Beautiful Lie
by cherrycokerocks
Summary: When Karen Angle loses fives years of her memory she wakes up to find her life has totally changed. *Chapter 30 contains Character death and attempted suicide.* A AJxKaren story.
1. Prologue

Fic: Beautiful Lie  
Author: And  
Pairings: A.J Styles/Karen Angle, Karen Angle/Kurt Angle, Kurt Angle/Christy Hemme, Christian Cage/Gail Kim, Chris Jericho/Trish Stratus, Edge/Lita.  
Rating: PG for now.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all belongs to TNA and themselves.  
Summary: When Karen loses fives years of her memory she wakes up to find her life has totally changed. She's got a new job and is involved in a storyline with another man but it's only a storyline or is it?  
Spoilers: Impact 22nd May 2008.  
Warnings: None.  
Author's notes: I got the idea for this plot after reading Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella. Semi AU as Kurt and Karen don't have any kids in this. Also for the sake of the story, Kurt hasn't really hurt his neck again, it's just a TNA storyline. Anything else and I'll let you know.

Prologue

Seattle, Washington, March 30, 2003

It was fast approaching 12 am and the only thing Karen Angle wanted to do was get back to her hotel room and go to sleep but by the look of things, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. She was in a bar which she couldn't even remember the name of with her husband, his friends and co workers celebrating another successful Wrestlemania. Vince McMahon had provided his employees with a free bar as a thank you for all their hard work over the weekend. Champagne was flowing and the party was in full swing. Everywhere she looked, Karen saw people who were beating the hell out of each other just hours ago in the show, drinking and dancing together. If only the fans could see this.

Finally after what had seem like forever, the loud music that had been blasting from the sound system had been stopped, at least for the time being and although it was anything but quiet due to the amount of people in the room, she could hear herself think. After watching her husband knock back yet another beer, Karen had decided she'd had enough. She tapped Kurt lightly on the shoulder and waited for him to turn around.

"It's almost midnight, can we get out of here?"

Her husband looked less than impressed, "Are you kidding me? I'm having a great time and besides it will look bad if we're the first ones to leave."

Karen rolled her eyes, "I don't care if it looks bad, I'm really tired. I bet Vince won't even notice if we slip away quietly."

Kurt snorted, "Of course he's going to notice. He's Vince McMahon. And it's probably my last chance to hang out with the guys for a while with my upcoming neck surgery and all. Can't you go and hang out with Trish and Victoria or something?"

"No," Karen replied bluntly. "They're both here with their boyfriends, they aren't going to want me hanging around like a spare part. Please Kurt, I just want to go back to the hotel."

"Look if you really want to leave I'm not stopping you." He reached into the inside front pocket of the black suit jacket he was wearing and pulled out his wallet. He took out a couple of twenty dollar bills and placed them on the table in front of his wife, "Take a cab and text me when you get there."

The brunette looked at him in disbelief, "You're just gonna let me leave by myself?"

"Yeah … I'm pretty sure you can handle yourself, Karen." He gave her a small smile, "I would come with you if I could but it's just not possible."

"Of course it's not," Karen muttered under her breath. She picked up the money from the table as she got up to leave, Jay Reso came up behind her.

"Going somewhere?" he asked cheerfully.

"Yup, I'm going back to the hotel."

"But I was just about to get you another drink," the blond Canadian protested.

Karen gave him a half smile, "That's very sweet of you, Jay but I have to go. Maybe next time, okay?" She didn't wait for an answer, instead she gave Kurt a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away.

"Everything okay, man?" Jay asked Kurt as soon as Karen was out of earshot.

"Everything's fine, just Karen being Karen is all. I think she's just tired, you know how she gets."

Jay nodded his head, knowingly, "I'm gonna get another drink, you want one?"

"Sure," Kurt replied. "It's free after all so why the hell not."

As soon as she stepped out of the bar, Karen regretted her decision to leave. It was pouring down with rain and although she'd only been outside for just over a minute, she was already starting to get soaked. The black jacket she was wearing wasn't exactly waterproof and Karen was pretty sure if she stayed out in the rain much longer, the new pink cocktail dress she was wearing would be ruined. Not wanting that to happen, she marched down the street as best as she could in the heels she was wearing in search of taxi cab to take her back to the hotel.

A further five minutes later and she was still no closer to finding a taxi. "Maybe I should just go back to the bar and get them to call me a cab," she said aloud. Just as she was about to turn around a taxi came along the opposite side of the street. "Taxi!" she yelled out, waving her hand out frantically. Luckily for her, the taxi stopped several metres down the street. Unluckily for her, Karen could see a party of four making their way towards the cab. "Oh no, you don't. This cab is mine," the brunette said with determination even though they couldn't hear her. In more bad luck for her, a sudden bout of traffic prevented her from crossing the street when she wanted too and just as she reached the other side, the cab pulled away, filled with the four people Karen had been racing against. "Damn it." She sighed, "Back to the bar it is."

It was at that moment the rain started to come down even heavier and in that split second Karen made a decision that would ultimately be her downfall. She ran up six steps to shelter in a store doorway. After standing there for what seemed to be an eternity but was probably actually no more than four or five minutes, she spotted another vacant taxi coming down the street. Throwing caution to the wind, Karen ran from the doorway but just as she reached the first step her heel broke causing her to crash down the steps and land in a heap on the sidewalk. "Oh crap," was the last thing she said before she gave into the darkness and passed out.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

Chapter 1

Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, May 16, 2008

Karen's eyes fluttered opened and then instantly closed again. The pain in her head was the worse she'd ever felt. Surely whatever she'd drunk last night couldn't have given her this hangover. She tried to recall exactly how many drinks she had but her mind was foggy and the pain was making it impossible to concentrate. The brunette winced when she tried to move her arm, realising it wasn't just her head, her whole body was sore. What the hell had happened to her? Maybe she had alcohol poisoning or something. Whatever it was, Karen couldn't shake the feeling something was definitely wrong.

"Kurt," she called out weakly. It came out barely louder than a whisper. The fog in her mind began to clear slowly as something about last night came back to her. It was the after party of Wrestlemania 19. She'd been tired and wanted to leave early. Kurt had given her money for a cab. It had been raining and she'd been running. And oh god, her heel had broken and she'd fallen down those steps. Karen opened her eyes again slowly, this time she managed to look around the room. It was dimly lit and the drapes were closed but she could tell she was in a hospital bed. "Great going, genius," she chastised herself. "Kurt is going to kill you."

Slowly she reached for the nurse call button on the cabinet besides her bed. After pressing the button she waited for a nurse to come.

A minute later, the door opened and a blonde haired nurse walked into the room, "Hi, Karen," she said, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a truck. I'm thirsty too," Karen replied.

"I'll just fetch you some water. How's your head?"

"It really hurts."

"I'll get you a pain killer too. I'll be right back."

"Thanks."

The nurse returned a few minutes later, carrying the water and the pills on a tray. She placed the tray down on the cabinet next to the bed, "Here, take this. It should help you to feel better."

Karen took the glass of water and swallowed the pills quickly. She drank all of the water swiftly.

"You really were thirsty, I'll get you some more in a minute. Is there anything else that you need?" the nurse asked kindly.

"I don't think so. Can you tell me what time it is?"

"It's 9 pm."

"9 pm?" Karen asked in disbelief. "I've been asleep the whole day? I really must have hit my head hard."

The nurse nodded, "It was quite a bump you took by all accounts. Do you remember the accident?"

"Accident?" Karen repeated. "I fell down five steps and knocked myself silly. Not really much of an accident."

The nurse frowned, "You were involved in a multi-vehicle pile up on the freeway. You don't remember that?"

"Freeway? I wasn't in a car, I was running."

"Okay, I'm just going to ask you a few questions about yourself." The blonde woman smiled, "What's your name?"

"Karen Angle."

"Good, and your date of birth?"

"October 12, 1972."

"Excellent. I think that's enough for today." She smiled again, "Why don't you get some rest and I'll get the doctor to see you in the morning."

"What about the freeway?"

"Don't worry about that now. I'm sure it will come back to you soon as I said, you took quite a bump to the head."

"Can I just ask you one more thing? My husband, Kurt … is he here?"

"No, he was here earlier though. He's gone back to the hotel."

"Oh … okay."

"You really should be resting now. I'll come back later to check on you again."

"Thanks," Karen replied, suddenly feeling tired again. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

The next morning the brunette awoke to find her bed surrounded by several people who seemed to be studying her.

A man in his late forties smiled at her briefly before talking, "Good morning, Karen. I'm Doctor Yelland, how are you feeling?"

"A little better."

"I'm glad to hear it. Kara tells me that you were talking to her last night, do you remember that?"

"Is she the nurse?" Karen asked, she watched Doctor Yelland nod in reply, "Then yes, I remember talking to her."

"That's great news, it shows you've come out of post-traumatic amnesia now. You've woken up a couple of times before last night but you were babbling more than talking really."

"Babbling?"

"Don't be alarmed, perfectly normal for some one in your condition. Kara also mentioned that you didn't remember being in the car accident. Anything come back to you?"

Karen shook her head, "I keep saying I wasn't in a car accident and as much as it embarrasses me to admit this … my heel broke and I fell down about five steps and knocked myself out. Trust me, I wish I could forget that."

"Interesting …" he was about to continue when the lady standing next to him, said something that Karen couldn't quite make out. "Great suggestion, Michelle." The doctor turned his attention back to Karen, "I'm just going to ask you some simple questions, Karen. It doesn't matter if you don't know the answers, okay?"

"Okay."

"Can you tell me what year you think this is?"

Karen raised an eyebrow, "What year? It's 2003."

Doctor Yelland looked at the group of people standing around the bed before his gaze returned to the brunette, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. It's 2003." As soon as the words left Karen's mouth she regretted saying them. Something was definitely wrong. All five of the people standing near her were now starring at her like she had two heads.

"Un-freaking believable," the man on the end said.

"Thank you, Colin, do everyone a favour and shut up."

Colin coughed into his hand, "Sorry."

"Try to remain calm but it's actually 2008. May 17 to be exact."

Karen eyes nearly popped out of her head, "You tell me it's 2008 and expect me to remain calm. Have I been in a coma for five years?"

Doctor Yelland shook his head, "No you were brought in five days ago."

"Then what?"

"I believe you're suffering from a condition called retrograde amnesia. Seems like you've lost the last five years of your memory."

Karen felt like crying, "This can not be happening."

"I'm afraid it is. Look, I have other patients to see. I'll come back later and we can talk okay. In the meantime you're husband is outside waiting, would you like to see him?"

"Kurt's here?"

"Yes. I'll just go and fill him in on your condition and I'll send him in." Doctor Yelland turned his attention to the rest of the group. "Come on, guys, we'll leave Karen to get some rest." The five left the room silently leaving Karen alone.

Rest? Was he kidding? He'd just told her she's lost five years of her memory and he expected her to rest, not likely. She tried to get out of bed but her body didn't seem to want to co-operate with her and she gave up without trying too hard. She decided the best thing was to wait until Kurt came in.

She didn't have to wait too much longer as only a few minutes later, the door opened and Kurt stepped inside. He was wearing a dark grey tee shirt and a pair of jeans. As he walked towards her, Karen studied his face. He looked older than the last time she'd seen him. Of course he was older … five years older.

"Hey Karen," he said casually, "The doctor just told me about the amnesia, god that sucks."

Karen couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. She'd been unconscious for nearly five days and that was the first thing Kurt said to her? "Is that all you can say?"

Kurt looked a little confused, "What did you want me to say?"

"Oh I don't know, how about … oh Karen, thank god you're awake."

"That goes without saying. Look you're obvious stressed out …"

"Ya think?" Karen interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, I'm not handling this very well. I'll tell you what, I'm gonna go call JB and tell him you're awake. I promised I'd call him as soon as you woke up. Then I'll came back and we can talk okay?" He squeezed her hand. "I won't be long."

He turned to leave but Karen called out to him, "Wait, who's JB?"

"Right, you won't remember him. He's a co-worker. One of our best friends actually. Not sure how he's gonna take the fact you don't remember him. Poor guy."

"Poor guy?"

Kurt seemed to realise he wasn't saying the right things to make his wife happy and moved quickly to the open door. "I'll be back," he said, disappearing into the hallway.

"That was weird," Karen muttered to herself, "Very weird." Deciding she'd worry about it later when Kurt returned, the brunette turned her attention to some get well cards on the cabinet besides her. She sat up slowly and picked up the nearest card. Inside was handwriting she recognised as Jay Reso's but the card just wasn't from him. It was signed, all our love, A.J, Jay and JB. JB was the guy Kurt was just talking about but who was A.J?

Before Karen could give it anymore thought, there was a knock on the open door, when she looked up she expected to see Kurt. But it wasn't Kurt, it was a dark haired man, dressed in stone washed jeans and a white tee shirt.

"Flower delivery for Mrs Angle," he said in a southern accident.

Karen smiled brightly. Kurt must have arranged these flowers for her. "Come in."

The man moved into the room slowly, "How are you feeling?"

She found it a little strange that a flower delivery guy would take the trouble to ask how she was feeling but put it down to him being polite or something. "Not too good," Karen replied honestly. "But oh my gosh, these flowers are beautiful."

The man flashed her a bright smile, "You like them then?"

"I love them. Is there a card?"

"No, I didn't think about that … stupid … stupid."

Karen shot him a confused look, "Didn't my husband ask for a card when he ordered them?" That was just typical of Kurt.

The man placed the flowers down on the chair next to the bed, "Excuse me?"

"My husband, I think the flowers are from him."

"No, they're not," the man said bluntly.

"Oh …" Karen trailed off unsure of what to say next.

"They're from me of course. I'm so glad you liked them. I had to pay extra to get them so quickly but you're totally worth it."

Karen was trying her best not to freak out. A man she'd never met before in her life was standing in her hospital room with a bunch of flowers for her … from him and she had no idea why. This day was going from bad to worse. Realising she should probably say something she decided that the direct approach would be best. "Thanks, I just have one question?"

"And what's that?"

"Who are you?"


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

Chapter 2

Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, May 17, 2008

Karen had been waiting for an answer to her question for at least the last two minutes and she wasn't sure the mystery man in front of her was going to speak anytime soon. His brow was furrowed and he looked totally confused. Suddenly a smile broke out on his face, "Oh ha, ha! You almost got me. Who are you? That's a good one but you shouldn't try and rib me when you're in the hospital."

"Excuse me? Rib you?" Was this guy for real? "Tell me who you are right now or I'm calling for security."

The man's face fell, "You seriously don't know who I am?"

Karen was starting to get frustrated, "No! Now are you going to tell me or not?"

"Allen," the man replied quietly. "My name is Allen."

"Allen what?" Karen asked cautiously.

"Allen Jones. What happened to you? Why don't you remember me?"

Karen frowned, the man seemed to be in serious distress after he realised she had no idea who he was. "The doctor said," She coughed, her throat was dry. "Oh, excuse me."

"Let me get you some water," A.J said. Before Karen could blink he was around the other side of the bed, filling her glass from the water jug on the cabinet. "Here, this should help."

Karen accepted the glass from him and drank for a moment, "Thank you."

A.J gave her a shy smile, "You're welcome."

The brunette cleared her throat before continuing, "The doctor thinks I have retrograde amnesia. I can't remember anything from the past five years."

"Five years? Oh shit … I mean shoot. I apologise for my language. That just sorta slipped out. Does Kurt know about this? Is he here?"

"Yes he knows and yes he's here. He went outside to make a phone call." Allen's use of Kurt's first name put Karen's mind at ease a little. Hopefully he wouldn't turn out to be some crazed stalker or something. "You know Kurt too?"

"Yeah, we work together. We all work together for TNA. You don't remember any of that?"

Karen shook her head, "Not a thing. She watched the man's expression change again. Now he was looking distraught.

"This is just so awful. I'm so sorry this has happened to you. Is there anything I can do for you? Anything you need? Something I can get you?"

Karen was kind of taken aback by his thoughtfulness. Kurt hadn't asked her if he could do anything for her. "Not right now but thanks for the offer. Kurt should be back any minute …" she trailed off as Kurt walked into the room.

"A.J? I wasn't expecting to see you here so quickly."

"Wait a minute, you're A.J?" Karen asked.

"Yeah … do you remember something?"

Karen felt two pairs of eyes on her, expectantly waiting for an answer, "No, your name is on a card. I was reading it just before you walked in. I thought you said your name was Allen." She paused for a second before she realised. "Allen Jones … A.J. Right."

"A.J Styles is my ring name. Nearly everybody calls me A.J or Styles. Anyways, I just stopped by to see how you were and to drop off the flowers from me and Christian."

"That's good of you man, I appreciate it," Kurt replied before Karen could say anything.

"No problem. Is there anybody you want me to call? Cornette maybe or Jeff? I could tell them what's happened."

"Thanks for the offer but I already called Jarrett when I was outside. I have to call him later with an update."

"Right … well I guess I should leave you to it if there's nothing I can do. I hope you're feeling better real soon, Karen." He bent down and kissed her cheek quickly. "You take good care of her, man," he said to Kurt.

"I will. I'll call you later, A.J. Thanks for coming."

"Bye."

Karen watched as A.J hurriedly left the room. Kurt picked up the flowers that A.J had left on the chair.

"Nice flowers."

"Yeah, I actually thought they were from you. The poor guy had no idea I didn't know who he was."

Kurt avoided eye contract with his wife, "I didn't even think about flowers. Sorry."

"Doesn't matter. The important thing is that you're here."

"Slight problem with that …I'm supposed to leave for a promotional tour of Japan tonight."

"What?" Karen couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Can't you tell Vince to send somebody else?"

"I don't work for Vince anymore. We both work for TNA."

"Right, A.J mentioned that earlier." TNA sounded familiar to Karen. She'd definitely hear the name before. It suddenly came back to her, "Jeff Jarrett's wrestling company?"

"Yeah, it's really going places now. Christian works there too."

Karen started to feel overwhelmed. Her brain was trying to process too much information at the same time. She closed for eyes for a second and tried to focus on one thing. Kurt was going off to Japan for god only knows how long just when she needed him the most. That was just typical of Kurt. "Can't they send somebody else?"

Kurt took hold of her hand, "Not really. I've already been advertised. It will only be for a couple of days. I'll be back on Monday for the Impact tapings… that's our tv show, by the way."

Karen made a face, "I don't care if it's just for a couple of days Kurt. I really need you. Do you have any idea how scared I am right now? I've lost the last five years of my life … maybe forever."

Kurt looked away again. "I know you're scared honey but you're a really strong person. If anybody can get over this, it's you. I'll be there for you, I promise."

"You will?"

"Absolutely … just as soon as I get back from Japan."

The brunette snatched her hand from his, "Whatever Kurt, you just better hope nothing else happens to me while you're gone."

The former TNA heavyweight champion nodded, "Nothing else is going to happen to you, Karen."

Doctor Yelland had returned later that morning to explain more to Karen about her condition. According to him, the memory loss may or may not be permanent at the moment it was too soon to tell. Kurt had left for his trip to Japan just after lunch. Karen still couldn't quite believe that he'd gone in the end. But on second thoughts, this was Kurt she was talking about. He always put work first and her second. She usually didn't mind but this was different, "Damn you, Kurt."

It was a little after 3 pm when the door opened and a familiar looking blond haired man walked into her room. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans and black polo shirt, "You up for a visitor?"

Karen's jaw dropped, "For you? Always. Oh my gosh, look at your hair."

The Canadian's hands instantly went to his hair, "What's wrong with it?"

"It's so short but I love it."

Jay looked puzzled for a second and seemed to realise, "The amnesia ...You don't remember me cutting my hair."

"When did you do it?"

"May 2003."

"Damn it, the last thing I remember is Wrestlemania 19. Mostly the after party at that crappy bar."

"Right, that's the night you fell down those steps. Adam and Chris found you unconscious in the rain."

"Exactly," Karen said excitedly. "That's the very last thing I remember … Wait, Adam and Chris found me? Oh how embarrassing."

Jay smiled, "Let's just say you didn't live it down for a while and we'll leave it at that." He sat down on the chair besides the cabinet. "I see you got the card."

"Yes, thank you and I got the flowers."

"Flowers? What flowers?"

Karen eyed him suspiciously, "The flowers that you and A.J sent me."

Jay made a face and then suddenly twigged, "Oh those flowers. Glad you liked them."

The brunette wasn't convinced in the slightest, "You had nothing to do with them, did you?"

"Nope. Did A.J tell you they were from me too?"

"Not exactly. That's what he told Kurt. He didn't mention your name until he was talking to Kurt."

"That doesn't surprise me. He's pretty freaked out by this whole amnesia thing though. He stopped by my place earlier … he's convinced you hate him or something."

"I don't even remember him. How can he think that?"

"Well you guys are pretty tight these days. It's like he's lost his best friend overnight."

"He's my best friend?" Karen asked.

"Oh yeah. You're like joined at the hip."

"You're joking right?"

The blond man shook his head, "I'm being deadly serious. He's your best friend. But enough about A.J. So, where's Kurt, I thought he would have been here."

"He's gone to Japan," Karen said bitterly.

"Oh right the promotional trip. I thought he would have blown that off with you being in the hospital."

"You would think that wouldn't you but no, not Kurt. He's gone."

Jay was about to reply when his phone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and read the message he'd just received. Instantly a huge smile appeared on his face.

"And what are you looking so happy about?"

"Oh nothing," Jay said coyly.

"Oh nothing my ass! Spill it Reso."

"It's nothing just a text from Gail. We're kinda living together now. You remember Gail right? She was just about to be called up to the main roster after Wrestlemania 19."

"Gail .." Karen thought for a moment, the name certainly sounded familiar to her. "Gail Kim? You and Gail Kim?"

"Yeah."

"That's great news. I only talked to her a couple of times but she seemed like a nice girl. I'm really happy for ya."

"Thanks."

"Does Gail work for TNA too?"

Jay nodded, "She certainly does. She was the first ever TNA Women's champion. But enough about us. When can you get out of here?"

"Hopefully tomorrow. Apart from the amnesia and being a bit sore there's nothing really wrong with me so …"

"Want me to pick you up?" Jay asked.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to put you through any trouble."

The Canadian smiled, "It's no trouble at all and besides what kind of friend would I be if I abandoned you in your time of need?"

"You mean like Kurt?" Karen asked sarcastically.

"Didn't mean to bring that up …sorry."

"It's not your fault my husband puts his career before me." Karen said sadly. She still couldn't believe he'd gone to Japan and left her.

"It couldn't really be helped and I would have …"

Anger flashed in the brunette's eyes, "Don't you dare say that you would have done the same thing because we both know you wouldn't have."

"Okay maybe not but it's just how Kurt is. He doesn't mean anything by it." Jay reasoned.

Karen rolled her eyes, "Trust me, I know."

"Well I guess I better get going. They told me not to stay too long because you needed your rest. I'll check with the nurse about what time you'll be released tomorrow and I'll pick you up then. How does that sound?"

She smiled, "That sound perfect. Thanks Jay," Karen said with fake enthusiasm.

He rubbed her arm gently, "Don't mention it. I'll see you tomorrow, Mrs Angle." He stood up from the chair and turned to leave.

"I'm looking forward to it Mr Reso." As she watched him walk towards the door, Karen managed to fight off the urge to cry until he'd left the room. Silent tears rolled down her face, there was no mistaking it, she felt well and truly miserable and had never felt so alone in all her life.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.**

Chapter 3

Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, May 18, 2008

"Knock, knock."

Karen was a little surprised to see A.J standing there when she looked up from the magazine she was reading. "Oh hello," she said shyly.

"Hi, how are you feeling?" He asked, moving forward slightly but still stayed by the open door.

"Somewhat better in myself, still haven't remembered anything."

A.J nodded, "Just give it time, I'm sure it will all come back to you. Do you mind if I come in?"

"I don't mind but I'm not going to be here that much longer. The doctor signed my release this morning."

A.J walked into the room fully. He was wearing the same jeans as the day before but with a black TNA shirt. "I know. That's actually why I'm here."

Karen shot him a confused look. "It is?"

"Yeah … you see Jay was kinda busy—"

"So he sent you instead?" Karen snapped, interrupting him.

"What? No! He's outside talking to one of the nurses about a follow up appointment or something."

The brunette frowned, "Then I don't understand."

"Jay was kinda busy earlier so he asked me if I can bring some of your clothes here. I was going to come in first thing but then we thought it might be better if I just came at the same time so I could help you settle in."

"Oh … right. Sorry for snapping."

A.J waved it off, "Don't worry about it. You've got a lot on your mind with the amnesia and all."

"Still, I shouldn't have snapped at you. You're only trying to help."

"Well, I'm used to you snapping at me … just kidding." He flashed her a cheeky smile. "Anyways, I better give you your clothes so we can get out of here."

"Okay."

A.J placed a black holdall bag on the bed in front of her. He unzipped the bag, "Let's see what we've got in here." He pulled out a pair of white sneakers and handed them to her. "Sneakers, socks, jeans, tank top and underwear … I'll just leave the 

underwear in the bag and you can get it in a second. It's pretty warm outside so I didn't bring a sweater. If you get cold, there's one of Jay's in his truck."

"That's very thoughtful of you A.J." Karen peered into the now almost empty bag and found a white bra and matching panties inside, "Where did you get all this stuff?"

"From my apartment. It's just some of your stuff that you keep there."

The brunette raised an eyebrow, not quite believing what she was hearing, "I keep stuff at your apartment?"

A.J nodded, "Yeah, I have lots of your stuff there. You even have your own closet."

"Wow!" Karen said. She couldn't believe that she kept clothes at another man's apartment. "Do I spend a lot of time there?"

"Quite a bit." A.J replied noncommittally. "I'm just gonna go wait outside while you get dressed. Shout out if you need anything."

"Thanks and thanks for bringing the clothes."

"Least I could do. See you soon." He smiled at her before leaving, closing the door behind him.

For a moment, Karen didn't move. She was too busy caught up with the hundreds of thoughts whirling around in her mind. Why on earth would she have things at A.J's house? Jay had told her they were best friends but she thought he was joking. Maybe it was true, maybe he was her best friend. He certainly seemed genuinely concerned about her well being unlike some people she could mention. As far as she knew Kurt hadn't even bothered to call the hospital to check up on her.

The brunette shook her head, she could think about that later. For now all she wanted to do is get home and take a nice long relaxing bubble bath. Hopefully she would have some of her favourite lavender bath oils there. She pulled the underwear out of the holdall and proceeded to get dressed as quickly as possible. Once she was fully clothed Karen gathered up the cards and placed them in the holdall. Kara, the nurse had wrapped up the flowers that A.J had given her so hopefully they wouldn't die on the way home.

Karen took one more glance around the room to make sure she'd got everything. When she was positive that nothing had been left behind, she picked up the flowers in one hand and the bag in the other and slowly made her way to the door.

Walking was proving to be a bit of a struggle. She'd only been out of bed a couple of times until this morning when she had to walk for Doctor Yelland to prove to him she could walk okay before her release. She opened the door expecting to find the two men sat outside waiting for her but there was nobody there. "Jay? … A.J?"

"Oh hey Karen," A.J called from down the hallway. I just had to go to the bathroom. Jay's gone to get something out of the vending machine. He's hungry."

Karen smiled, "Jay's always hungry."

"Let me take those for you." He'd taken the flowers and the bag off her before she could protest. "Do you need any help walking?"

"I think I can manage as long as we take it slow."

A.J locked eyes with her, "We can take it as slow as you want."

Karen looked away quickly to break the eye contact. "Thanks Allen." When she looked at him again a few second later he was smiling.

"Did I say something amusing?"

"No … you just don't normally call me Allen except …doesn't matter."

"Except when?"

"It really doesn't matter. Forget I said anything. Seriously."

Karen scowled at him, "That's not very fair. You can't just tell me half a story like that."

"I'm sorry, really I am. I shouldn't have said anything."

A.J seemed determined not to tell her anything else so Karen decided that she might ask Jay about it later. Jay appeared to know a lot about her friendship with A.J so if anybody would know it was him. "I'll let you off this time."

Allen nodded, "Thanks sweetheart. I wonder what's keeping Jay?"

Karen tried her best to ignore the fact he'd just called her sweetheart, "Which way is the vending machine?"

"Are you hungry?"

The brunette shook her head, "No, I just thought we could meet up with him on the way out."

"Right." A.J nodded. "We'll just head up there now. It's this way."

They starting walking slowly up the hallway, luckily for Karen, Jay had appeared when they were by the exit. "Ready to go?"

"I can't wait to get out of this place."

"Me too, I hate hospitals," A.J admitted.

"And you telling us that because? We don't care if you hate hospitals, do we Karen?"

"Oh shut your fat mouth," A.J huffed. He stomped off outside leaving Jay and Karen behind.

"Jay … that was really mean."

"He knows I was only joking. He'll be waiting on the other side of the door or he'd better be."

"Why's that?"

"He's got my car keys."

Karen was starting to get concerned, "Are you being serious?"

"Yeah, he left your bag in the car like a dumbass and had to go back for it."

With that A.J reappeared, "Are you guys coming or what?"

"We're coming." She grabbed Jay's arm and started to pull him along with her, "Come on you."

"Gee Karen, I see having amnesia hasn't made you any less bossy," Jay joked.

"She's not bossy, she's a princess and deserves to be treated as such." He gave her a wink and carried on walking.

"Kiss Ass," Jay called out as they followed.

"That's it, when we get home I'm gonna kick your butt on Call of Duty 4."

Jay snorted, "I'd like to see you try."

A.J laughed, "Don't worry, you're not going have to wait long."

"Oh really? It's on."

"What's call of duty?" Karen asked.

"Video game," the two men replied at the same time.

Karen smiled, "Well at least you agree on something."

"We play on Xbox live. He's at his house and I'm in my apartment. It's a really cool game. You're actually pretty good at it too," A.J pointed out.

"I am?" Karen asked in amazement. "I don't usually play video games."

"Are you kidding me? You usually come on and kick both our butts."

"That's only because A.J rolls over and dies for you."

"I do not!"

Karen ignored A.J's protest, "Do you guys normally argue this much?"

"We're not arguing … just trash talking," A.J corrected.

"Oh," Karen replied, feeling foolish suddenly.

"Don't worry about it and here's the car," Jay said. "A.J, got the keys?"

The dark haired man gave the flowers he was carrying to Karen before reaching into his jeans pocket and pulled out the car key. "Here ya go." He turned his attention to Karen, "Do you want to ride in the front or the back?"

"In the back please. Do I live far from here?"

"It's only about fifteen minutes away." He waited for Jay to unlock the truck. He opened the back door for Karen to enter.

"Thank you, A.J." One thing Karen was certain of, A.J certainly was a gentleman.

"You're welcome." He closed the door and walked around to the passenger side of the truck. He opened the other back door and placed the holdall on the seat besides Karen before getting in the front side.

It took just a little over fifteen minutes for them to reach Karen's house. She still couldn't believe that they had moved to Florida. It wasn't until the three were standing on the doorstep did they realise there was a problem.

"Oh my gosh, I don't have a key to get in. I didn't even think about it. How stupid is that?"

A.J rubbed her arm gently, "Don't beat yourself up about it. You've got a lot on your mind."

"But still, it's pretty stupid when I don't have a key to my own house. What should we do now?"

"We could always go around the back and break a window," Jay suggested.

"Oh great idea butthead!" A.J replied sarcastically. "Then we'll just leave Karen in the house alone when anybody could break in and attack her."

Jay rolled his eyes, "I would say she could stay at my place but we don't have a spare room at the moment and I don't think sleeping on the couch would be the best thing for you right now," the Canadian reasoned.

"Probably not," the brunette agreed.

"You could always stay at my place … I mean, I have a spare room and it would only be for a few days until Kurt got back, right?"

Karen wasn't sure what to do. On one hand she didn't remember A.J and it would be like living with a perfect stranger for three days but on the other hand, this man was her best friend and in all honesty she didn't have a lot of options.

"And besides," A.J continued when Karen didn't speak, "Maybe spending some time with me will trigger your memory or something."

Karen gave him a small smile, "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Then what are we waiting for," Jay said, the blond man already heading back to the car.

"Nothing I guess," Karen replied, following him.

For a moment A.J didn't move. His hand was in his front jeans pocket. His fingers were tracing the outline of the small metal object in there. A key … the spare key to Karen's house.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.**

Chapter 4

A.J Style's Apartment, Tampa, Florida, May 18, 2008

The three had been stood in the kitchen area of the apartment for the last twenty minutes. Karen had hoped that just being there would trigger something as she apparently spent so much time there but so far nothing had come back to her. Then again, they had only been in the kitchen, maybe moving to other room would help. Before Karen could make that suggestion, A.J's phone rang.

He moved into the living room area to answer it, "Hello? … Oh hey dude." He turned to look at Karen while he was listening to whoever was on the phone and smiled at her. "She's here right now actually. She's gonna stay here while Kurt is in Japan … and no she hasn't remember anything."

Karen turned to Jay, "I wonder who that is?"

"Well it's not Kurt."

"Obviously," Karen replied sarcastically.

Jay made a face, "I'd say it's either Christopher Daniels, Joe or JB."

A.J finished his conversation and placed the cordless phone back in it's cradle. "That was Chris …Daniels. He was just calling to see how you were," he said as he returned to the kitchen area.

Jay looked at his watch, "Oh shit, I didn't realise that time. I was supposed to be meeting Gail for lunch half an hour ago."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't want to leave you until you were settled in," the Canadian replied.

The brunette smiled, "That's very sweet of you Jay but I'm sure A.J can settle me in … Isn't that right, A.J?"

"Absolutely," A.J said cheerfully.

"Well if you're sure …"

"Positive."

"In that case, if there is anything you need just give me a call. A.J has all my numbers, okay?"

"I'll certainly do that. Thanks for everything Jay." Karen stepped forward and hugged the blond man tightly. "I don't think I would have gotten through this without you." When she stepped out of the embrace she felt a twinge of guilt when she saw the dejected look on A.J's face.

"You're welcome. I'll call later to check up on you okay?"

"Thanks Jay."

"Thanks man," A.J replied.

Karen watched Jay walk out of the kitchen, leaving her alone with A.J. Karen couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She had no idea what to talk to A.J about. "So …"

"What do you want to do now?"

"I'm not sure actually. Maybe I could sit down for a while. My legs are starting to feel sore."

"Of course, do you want to lie down? Maybe take a nap?"

"Maybe later, I'm not really sleepy right now."

"Well the couch is this way or you could go and rest in your room—"

"The couch will be fine." She smiled at him, "I just need to use the bathroom real quick."

"Sure … got right ahead." He frowned when she didn't move, "What's wrong?"

"Where is it?"

The dark haired man, smacked his forehead with his palm, "Oh duh! It's that way," He pointed to a small hallway off the living room, "Second door on the right."

Karen smiled, "Thanks, I'll be right back."

"No rush."

The brunette headed off in the direction of the bathroom. On the way there, she walked passed an opened door but resisted the urge to take a look inside, "I really shouldn't look in there," she said to herself. A couple of minutes later she was about to return to the kitchen when she passed the open door again. This time curiosity got the better of her, she double backed and stepped inside the room. It was a bedroom and from the look of it, it was A.J's bedroom. The walls had been painted in a dark purple colour which Karen found herself instantly liking. The bedding was a dark plum, satin effect. There were a few items of his clothes thrown on the bed but otherwise it was pretty tidy. Karen was just about to turn around when something on one of the white nightstands caught her eye. She moved closer to get a better look at it, "Oh my god!" She picked up the A4 sized picture frame that contained a picture of herself and A.J. A.J was wearing a suit and Karen was wearing a wedding dress.

"Everything okay?"

Karen jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice, "Jesus, A.J, you scared me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

She turned around to face him, "What's this?" she asked sharply.

"It's a picture of us."

Karen rolled her eyes, "I can see that … why am I wearing a wedding dress?"

"It's from work. On an episode of Impact we kind of got married …" he trailed off, seemingly unsure of how to continue.

"We're married in TNA?" Karen asked, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"No … it's just very complicated. Why don't you come back to the living room and I'll try to explain it okay?"

Karen placed the picture back on the nightstand, "Okay." As she followed A.J out of the room, she noticed another six or seven photo frames on the chest of drawers. All were of the same thing, her and A.J.

When the two reached the living room they sat at opposite ends of the couch. "I'm just gonna start from the beginning okay?"

Karen nodded.

"In the storyline Christian, Tomko and me were in a heel stable called The Christian Coalition. Basically Christian was the leader and we had to do whatever he said."

"I bet Jay loved that."

"Oh yeah," A.J grinned at her, "But anyways, Kurt decided he wanted me and Tomko to join his stable known as Team Angle. And he got you to use your um … womanly charms to persuade me. For weeks you were flirting with me and eventually I double crossed Christian and joined Team Angle."

"Oh my gosh!"

"Christian wasn't happy as you can imagine but you and me got a little closer. Then on Valentine's day you and Kurt were renewing your wedding vows. I was supposed to be Kurt's best man and JB was your maid of honour."

"What?"

"JB's your best friend on the show," A.J replied, as if that explained everything.

"Oh okay."

"So it's the wedding, you're looking absolutely beautiful in your wedding dress … it's the one you're wearing in the photo in my bedroom. It's just about to get to the 'you may kiss the bride' bit when Joe and Kevin Nash interrupt." A. J paused for a moment and ran a hand through his hair. "Then all hell breaks lose, they attack and push me into you. We're both down on the floor, the minister gets knocked silly too and Kurt gets thrown out of the ring and stripped to his boxers."

Karen laughed, "Poor Kurt."

"Oh I know right? While all this is going on, I help you back to your feet and the minister gets up and carries on with the service and says you may kiss the bride … so I did. And we're pronounced man and wife."

The brunette's jaw dropped, "That's unbelievable."

"Kurt wasn't very happy as you can imagine," A.J continued. "The next week, you and Kurt were having some problems and he sent you off to take your drama to your other husband …me. You decided we should go on a honeymoon."

"You and me on a honeymoon?"

"Yeah, we had so much fun shooting that. Usually we get most things done in one take but we did a couple on some of it because we were laughing so hard."

Karen found herself smiling again, "Where did we go?"

"We went to some food place and had steak and gravy … we didn't actually have that though and then we went to Gatorland."

"Gatorland?"

"Yeah, it was hilarious. Oh, I have the whole thing on DVD if you want to watch it? I mean." A.J shrugged, "Maybe it will help or something."

"I guess it couldn't hurt."

The dark haired man got up and moved towards the tv. He opened a dvd box and popped the disc into the player. He grabbed the remote control before heading back to the couch. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Oh and the other guy in the video is JB," A.J stated. "Nearly forget to mention that.

"Okay." Karen waited for the dvd to start playing. For some reason she had butterflies in her stomach. The dvd started and she and A.J appeared on the screen. She watched as on screen A.J explain the story behind the snow globe he had just given her.

For five minutes they sat in silence just watching the screen. When the dvd finished the screen went blank, "And that's it. By the end of the honeymoon, you'd fallen for my boyish charm."

Karen burst out laughing.

A.J frowned, "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh, that just sounded so funny."

"It's all right. I forgive you. So that's basically it. You and Kurt are now separated and you and me are …" He paused to make air quotes, "just good friends. I'm not sure what's gonna be happening at this week's taping. Last time, I just turned face. Kurt and some of the other guys, beat the crap out of me. You were covered in my blood."

Karen gasped, "I was?"

"Yeah, I bladed on the forehead and you know what head wounds are like, lots of blood. I'm kinda thirsty," A.J said changing the subject, "Do you want something to drink?"

"I wouldn't mind a coffee. White …"

"No sugar."

Karen smiled, "Is there nothing you don't know about me?" Watching the video had really helped to put her mind at ease about staying with A.J. He seemed to really care about her.

"Not much. I'll be right back." He headed towards the kitchen also to return a few moments later, "We're out of milk. I'm just gonna run to store and get some."

"Don't go on my account."

"I need to get some anyways, the store is just down the street. I'll only be five minutes. Is there anything you need?"

Karen thought about it, "I don't think so … wait, I need a toothbrush."

"You already have one here."

"Oh."

"I'll be right back. Make yourself at home."

"Seems like I've already done that," Karen muttered when A.J was out of earshot. She was about to go and check out the other bedroom when she noticed there was a flashing light on A.J's answer machine. Hoping the message might be from Kurt, Karen pressed the play button. "You have one new message and one saved message. First new message … Hey A.J, it's Angel. Just wondering if you'd heard how Karen is? Can you call me back when you get this? Thanks." Karen was wondering who Angel was when the machine continuing talking. "First saved message … Hey you. I've been thinking about you all morning. Last night was just so perfect. I have something really important to tell you so call me when you get this message. Love ya." Karen was rooted to the spot, her mouth wide open as the answer machine finished playing her own voice.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, all belongs to someone else.**

Chapter 5

A.J Styles' Apartment, Tampa, Florida, May 18, 2008

Karen had listened to the message ten times by the time A.J returned. He found her starring at machine. "Something wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"There's a message on your machine … from me. I had something important to tell you." She paused to make eye contact with him, "Please A.J you have to tell me what that was."

A.J looked down at his feet, "I can't," he said quietly.

Karen stepped forward and lifted his chin with her hand forcefully, "You keep saying if there anything you can do for me and yet you won't tell me this. Some friend you are." It was a cheap shot and Karen knew it but right now she didn't care.

The TNA wrestler looked really hurt, "That's really unfair, Karen. I would tell you if I could but I can't. I don't know what you were going to tell me … I never got a chance to call you back. That was the morning you had your car accident."

The brunette put her hand to her mouth, "A.J, I'm sorry. I didn't realise. I was just so shocked at hearing my voice that I just didn't take in the date."

"Do you really think I would keep something like that from you?"

"I don't know A.J, that's the problem."

A brief look of disappointment crossed A.J's features, "Here's your milk." He handed her a carton of semi skimmed. "If you'll excuse me I have some stuff to do." Before she could reply he walked away.

"A.J," she called out to his retreating form, "Please come back." Tears started rolling down her cheeks. She wasn't quite sure why she was crying.

Allen turned around and ran towards her when he saw she was crying. He hugged her tightly, "I'm so sorry Karen. I'm such an idiot."

Karen melted into his embrace. For some reason, having A.J's strong arms around her made her feel safe, "It's not your fault, Allen."

"Still I'm supposed to be looking after you and I end up making you cry. I suck!"

Karen couldn't help but laugh at his dramatic tone when he said suck.

"What's so funny?"

"You just sounded so cute then." She pulled back slightly so she could see his face.

"I sound cute?" He reached up and wiped a couple of tears away from her face with his thumb.

"Yeah." Karen sniffled, "Now, I was gonna make some coffee … do you want one?"

A.J smiled at her, "That would be nice. I like it black and very strong."

"One very strong black coffee coming up." Karen headed towards the kitchen.

"Thanks. Everything you need should be on the counter. I'm just going to the bathroom."

"Okay," Karen called out. She wasn't sure why her arguing with A.J has upset her so much. After all, she hardly knew the guy or at least she didn't remember knowing the guy. But there was definitely something between them … some sort of special bond of friendship. Karen was just about to start the coffee maker when she heard A.J shouting at himself loudly in the bathroom.

"Good god, A.J get a grip!" he chastised.

Without really thinking about it, the brunette made her way quickly to the bathroom. The door was open. A.J was standing in front the sink. His head was lowered and he was gripping each side of the basin with both hands. "A.J?" Karen said softly. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything," he admitted honestly.

"Do you want to talk about it? I know I don't remember anything but I'm a pretty good listener."

Allen turned his head to look at her, "I know. This amnesia thing is so frustrating. It's driving me nuts. I can't even think straight."

"Welcome to my world," Karen said sadly.

"I can't even imagine what it must be like for you. You've got all these people telling you about your life for the last five years and you don't remember any of it. You don't remember me …" he trailed off.

"If it makes you feel any better I wish I could remember you."

"You do?"

Karen nodded, "Yeah, A.J. I do. Now, do you still want that coffee?"

"Not really," A.J admitted.

"Me either," the brunette replied. "I was really hoping to take a nice relaxing bath when I got home but obviously that didn't happen. Would you mind if I used your bath?"

"Not at all. In fact why don't go and get your robe from the spare room. It should be hanging on the back of the door and while I run the water for you."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to."

"Okay then." Karen got the distinct impression that he wasn't going to take no for an answer, "In that case where is my room?"

"Next door, opposite my room."

"I'll just go and grab that and I'll be right back."

A.J smiled at her, finally moving away from the sink, "Take your time, there's no rush."

Karen turned and headed into the spare room. When she opened the door, she found more pictures of herself and A.J. "Wow, we must really like having our photo taken together," she mused. As she took another look around the room she noticed that the walls were painted in a neutral cream and the covers on the bed were a chocolate brown to contrast. It was totally different from A.J's room. Just as Karen was about to grab the robe and leave, she spotted a laptop on the dresser. "I wonder if that's mine?" Deciding that she have ask A.J in a second, the brunette exited the room, taking the pink satin robe from the back of the door with her.

When she reached the bathroom A.J was standing next to the bath tub watching the water and bubbles rising, he was holding a bottle of what appeared to be bubble bath in his right hand.

"Got the robe," Karen said.

"Great, the bath is nearly ready. I've just added your favourite bubble bath in there. It's bubbling up nicely, just how you like it."

Karen frowned a little, "That doesn't look like lavender."

A.J shook his head, "It's not … Cherry blossom is your favourite."

"Really?"

"Uh huh. Has been for a while. This stuff …" He pointed to the bottle with his other hand, "Is freaking awesome. Blows lavender right out of the water."

"It does smell nice," Karen said.

"Nice …" A.J shook his head before turning his attention back to the bath for a moment. When the tub was suitably filled, he shut off the water. "Well that's all ready for ya. Enjoy your bath."

Karen watched as he started to make his way out of the room, "Hey, A.J, that laptop in the spare room, it is mine?"

"We share it but you use it the most so I guess it's kind of yours."

"Right."

"I can set it up for you if you like … Maybe something in your email might trigger your memory."

"Sounds like a great idea," she paused for a moment, "And A.J?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for running the bath and thanks for everything."

Allen gave her a shy smile, "You're welcome. If you need anything just holler."

"I will."

As soon as the dark haired man left the bathroom, Karen placed the robe on the back of the door and locked it. The last thing she needed was A.J to come busting in on her while she was undressing. Not that she thought he would do it on purpose. Karen was just adverting a potential accident before it happened. The brunette removed her clothes quickly and stepped into the bath. "Heaven," she said before closing her eyes.

It was a good thirty minutes later when Karen walked out of the bathroom wearing just the robe and her underwear. She entered the spare room to find A.J sat on the bed with the laptop on his knee.

He looked up from the screen. The fact she was only wearing the robe didn't seem to phase him at all, "Oh hey, did you enjoy your bath?"

Karen nodded, "It was just what I needed."

"Glad to hear it. Are you hungry? I was going to make us a late lunch."

"Sounds good." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "What are she having?"

A.J thought for a moment, "How about chicken salad? I would say something else but I've been so worried about you these last few days, I've been eating a bunch of crap and I can't really afford to have another cheat day with the Impact tapings coming up."

Karen pushed aside the twinge of guilt she felt, "Chicken salad is fine. I'm gonna go out of a limb and say you know what type of salad I like."

"Oh yeah!"

The brunette smiled, "Thought so."

"Anyways, I set up the computer so yeah … You just need to open your email and you're all set." He stood and placed the laptop on the bed. "Lunch should be ready in about twenty minutes. I'll call you when it's ready."

"Do you want me to help you?"

"No, it's fine. You read your email." He walked towards the door, smiling at her again when he passed.

"Thanks A.J."

"No problem, sweetheart," he said before disappearing out of sight.

Karen's stomach flip flopped at his use of the word sweetheart. Kurt never called her that ever. Speaking of Kurt, he still hadn't called A.J to check on her, "Same old, Kurt," she said to herself.

Deciding it was best if she got dressed first, Karen headed to the closet to see what was inside. She opened the door, not really knowing what to expect. The closet was almost bursting at the seams with clothes, "Wow, A.J wasn't kidding when he 

said I had clothes here." After checking out a few items, she settled on a pair of grey sweatpants and a matching top with a plain white fitted tee shirt.

She went over to the dresser. The brunette was about to pick up a hairbrush when she spotted a loose photo. Again, it was a picture of her and A.J. The two looked so happy, A.J's arm was wrapped around her shoulder and she was leaning in close to him. "I wonder what we were smiling about?" Karen asked herself. She turned over the photo too see if she'd date marked it and sure enough, 'Orlando, May 8th, 2008' was written on the back in her handwriting. "That was only taken last week." Karen decided that was yet another thing she would have to ask A.J about over lunch. She returned the picture to the dresser and picked up the hairbrush. She gave her hair a quick brush and then got changed into her clothes.

Once the robe had been returned to the hook behind the door, she settled herself on the bed and opened her email. After a couple of minutes, several new messages arrived in her inbox. Most of them were just junk but one email in particular caught her eye. She clicked on the message and read carefully. It was from The Specialist Watch Company informing her that her order had been despatched on May 14, 2008 and would be with her no later than May 16, 2008. As Karen continued to read, her jaw dropped when she saw what she'd purchased … An Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary Limited Edition for 4000. There had to be some sort of mistake. She didn't have that kind of money to throw away on a watch. Maybe this was some sort of scam email. Karen scrolled further down the email to find a message from herself, dated May 10, 2008, asking for an approximate delivery date on the item as it was needed in for a 30th birthday present for June 2nd. Payment had been made by Pay Pal, whatever that was.

The brunette shook her head, this couldn't be right. She wouldn't have spent 4000 on a present for somebody's birthday. She didn't have 4000 to spend. She closed her email and set the laptop to shutdown. Maybe A.J would be able to help her with who's birthday was coming up. Kurt and Jay were both over thirty and it wasn't anywhere near their birthdays.

Less than a minute later she was standing in the Kitchen watching A.J prepare their salads, "Hey, can I ask you a question?" she asked, trying her best to sound casual.

"Shoot," A.J replied, placing a few chopped tomatoes on each plate.

"I was just wondering … how old are you?"

"I'm 29," A.J answered, "Not for much longer though. It's my birthday two weeks tomorrow."

"Holy crap!"


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing.**

Chapter 6

Kurt Angle's Hotel Room, Park Hyatt Hotel, Toyko, Japan, May 19, 2008

Kurt groaned as the sound of his alarm clock woke him. It was 3 am and thanks to the redheaded woman lying next to him, he hadn't gotten much sleep last night. He smiled to himself as he thought back on the previous night's events.

Christy Hemme stirred next to him, "What time is it?"

"3 am. We have like thirty minutes before we have to leave."

"Right … Um Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you call Karen yet?"

"Nope not yet," Kurt replied, evenly.

"Don't you think you should? I mean if she's got amnesia she's gonna wonder why you haven't called," Christy reasoned.

Kurt switched on the lamp on the nightstand and turned to face her, "I was going to call last night but I was kinda busy with other things."

Christy moved closer to him until her arm was resting on his bare chest, "Oh trust me, I know."

"Then why are you asking if I've called my wife?"

The redhead shrugged, "I just kind of feel sorry for her. It must be awful to lose five years of your life like that. And it's not like I hate her or anything."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "If it makes you feel better I'll call her when we get to the airport okay. She should be back home by now."

"Thanks Kurt. Now I was going to take a shower, do you want to join me?" she purred seductively.

Kurt grinned, "As much as I'd love to, we have to leave in thirty minutes."

Christy pouted as she got out of the bed, not bothering to cover her naked body, "Well that's too bad Kurt because I was going to scrub your back," she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Kurt dived out of bed, "Why didn't you say so," he called as he followed his mistress into the bathroom.

A.J Styles' Apartment, Tampa, Florida, May 18, 2008

Their salad placed abandoned, A.J stood in front of Karen, "What's wrong … Do you remember something?"

"No, it's just …" she trailed off, unsure of what to tell him. She couldn't exactly tell him she'd just found out she'd spent 4000 on his birthday present.

"Just what?" A.J asked.

"I didn't realise you were so young." Karen said lamely.

A.J made a face, "Young? Thirty isn't young."

"I'm gonna be thirty six in October so from my point of view you're young. And the last thing I remember I was thirty too. I was young then."

Allen sighed, "I wish there was something I could do to make it better."

Karen smiled, "You really mean that don't you?

"More than anything," A.J admitted. "Now, I better get back to the salad or we won't be eating anytime soon."

Ten minutes later the two were sat opposite each other at a round, wooden dining table just off the kitchen area. It wasn't until she started eating that she realised how hungry she actually was.

"Is your salad alright?" A.J asked.

"It's delicious."

"Glad to hear it. I take it you didn't find anything useful on the computer?"

"No, not really," Karen lied, "There was an email telling me my order had been despatched here. It's a watch for Kurt." The brunette felt a little guilty about lying to him.

"Oh yeah, a few days ago when you were in the hospital. The courier guy made me open it and check the watch was okay."

"What?"

"Don't worry, I won't say anything to Kurt. I stand by my recommendation after seeing it up close and personal. That is a nice watch."

Karen frowned in confusion, "I'm sorry, you've lost me."

A.J put down his fork, "About a month ago you asked me about watches because you were buying a present for Kurt. You said if money was no object what watch would I buy. I told you I'd like An Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary Limited Edition. It's freaking awesome."

"Have you never thought about buying one?"

"Yeah but they are so expensive and I've never spent that kind of money on anything for myself. Maybe it was a gift for someone else."

Karen used the opportunity to gather a little more information, "Is there anyone special in your life right now?"

"At this precise moment in time?" A.J shook his head, "No. There was … and not to sound like a total girl or anything but until she came along, I don't think I ever knew what love was."

"Wow, she must be something else."

A.J gave her a sad smile, "She certainly is. She's with somebody else now."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Karen didn't want to push him too hard as he was obviously still upset, "And there's no chance you're going to get back together?"

A.J shook his head, "I doubt it. I mean she was with me and then boom … she's with somebody else. I never even saw it coming."

Karen put down her cutlery on her now empty plate, "That must have been awful, especially if you loved her as much as you said you did."

"It's broken my heart. I didn't happen that long ago so it's still raw … you know?"

"Do I know her?"

"Yeah, you know her. If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it anymore." He stood quickly, "I'll go and get you the watch. I put it in my safe." He walked off to his bedroom.

Karen's heart went out to A.J. The poor man was obviously in so much pain from the break up but he'd hidden that for her sake. Maybe that was why she'd purchased the watch for him. "But it's such a lot of money," she said to herself.

Allen returned a few moments later carrying a black watch box in his hand. He placed it on table in front of the brunette. Slowly he opened it, "Here ya go."

"Wow, that's beautiful." Carefully, she pulled the watch loose from the box, "Why don't you try it on?"

"I couldn't … I mean I don't think Kurt's gonna like that fact I wore he watch before he did."

Karen smiled, "And who's gonna tell him? Not me." Karen said, "Hey, you said it yourself, it's a nice watch."

A.J seemed convinced, "Okay, maybe for just a minute." He held out his left wrist for Karen to put the watch on. It was a perfect fit. "That's weird."

Karen raised an eyebrow, "What's weird?"

"It fits me perfectly."

"What's weird about that?" Karen asked, unsure as to why the watching fitting his wrist was a big deal.

"I have funny sized wrists. Watches never fit me like this straight away. It's a pain in the ass to get them adjusted."

"I guess it was fate then."

"I almost had to buy a new watch myself about three weeks ago." A.J told her. "Mine just vanished into thin air. I was turning the place upside down looking for it."

"Where did you find it?" Karen asked, her curiosity was peaked.

"I didn't … you did."

"Me?"

"Yeah. The place was a mess, there was stuff everywhere and I do mean everywhere. I'd pulled all the cushions and seats off the sofa trying to find the damn thing and you arrive and find it …" He clicked his fingers, "just like that."

"That was lucky then."

"Yeah, it was freaky because I could have sworn I'd already looked in the place where you found it."

Karen laughed, "Well, you obviously didn't look hard enough."

A.J scratched his head, "That's exactly what you said to me the first time."

The brunette nodded slightly, "Then it must be true."

"I guess. I better take this off." He carefully removed the watch from his wrist. "I'm sure Kurt's gonna love it."

"Yeah."

A.J placed the watch back in it's box carefully, "Do you want me to put it back in the safe until tomorrow?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Sure, I'll be right back" He walked back to his bedroom.

"Damn, I'm sneaky," Karen muttered. She jumped as the phone suddenly starting ringing. Just as she was contemplating answering it stopped.

A.J walked back into the room, holding another cordless handset to his ear. He wasn't looking very happy, "She's here, actually. Do you want to talk to her?" He stopped in front of the brunette, "It's Kurt."

"Finally," Karen thought to herself. She took the handset from the dark haired man, "I'm just going to take this in the bedroom, if that's okay."

"Sure."

Karen walked into the spare room and closed the door behind her, "Hi Kurt, where are you?"

"I'm at the airport, waiting for my flight home," Kurt practically barked.

"What time is it there? You sound grouchy."

"It's 4.15 am. What are you doing at A.J's? I thought you would have been at home. I called there first."

"I would have been but I didn't have a key to get in," Karen explained.

"What are you talking about?"

"They didn't have anything at the hospital," the brunette said. "I guess it was lost in the crash.

"Why didn't you just use the key A.J has?"

"What?"

"Did I stutter?" he asked sarcastically, "Why didn't you use the key that A.J has to our house?"

"A.J has a key to our house?"

"Yeah, you gave it to him."

Karen felt anger rising inside her, "I don't remember that, Kurt and A.J hasn't mentioned it. Look Kurt, I have to go. Have a safe trip back. I love you." She hung up the phone without letting her husband reply and marched back into the kitchen area and straight up to where A.J was standing.

"You," she prodded him hard in the chest, "have a key to my house. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I … er …" he squirmed under her intense gaze.

Karen was getting more pissed by the second, "Answer me damnit."

"I was going to tell you …"

The brunette placed her hands on her hips, "I don't believe you A.J. And if you can lie to me about that … What else have you been lying about?"

"Karen, please. Let me explain."

"Save it A.J, I don't want to hear it. The only thing I want to do right now is get the hell out of here and away from you."


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Still nothing nothing over here.**

Chapter 7

A.J Styles' Apartment, Tampa, Florida, May 18, 2008

As Karen turned leave her, A.J grabbed her arm and spun her, "Don't go."

"I'm not staying here. I need the key."

"Karen …"

"Don't. Don't say whatever it is you're going to say. I just want my key."

With a dejected look on his face, Allen reached into his front jeans pocket and pulled out the metal object. "Here you go."

The brunette's face flushed with anger, "You have got to be kidding me, the whole time you had it in your pocket?" She snatched the key out of his hand.

"I brought it with to the hospital. I was going to tell you when we reached your place."

"So instead you lured me here. No wonder your girlfriend left you," Karen said bitterly.

"Karen how can you say that?"

"Easily!" The brunette snapped back. "Now stay away from me. You got it?" Karen charged towards the door. As she walked out the hallway, her legs were starting to hurt her but there was no way she was going to show she was in pain right now. She managed to get all the way out of the apartment complex before A.J caught up with her.

"Karen, please stop."

"Go away A.J."

"And leave you out here by yourself? I don't think so."

I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. Kurt is always saying that."

"I'm not Kurt."

"And all I can say to that is thank god, you're not Kurt. I couldn't even imagine being married to someone like you," she said in disgust.

A.J stopped in his tracks, "You don't mean that."

"Trust me A.J I really do." Karen carried on walking leaving a stunned A.J in her wake.

She'd been walking around aimlessly for the last ten minutes. Charging off like that with no idea where her house was wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done but A.J had managed to make her feel so betrayed by lying to her about something so important that she wasn't thinking straight. She was thinking about turning around and going back to the apartment when a black Porsche pulled up along side her.

The tinted window rolled down to reveal Jay Reso, "Karen?"

Karen stopped at the sight of her friend, "Oh Jay, thank god it's you."

"I think you better get in, don't you?"

The brunette nodded and walked around the other side of the car. She opened the door and sat in the passenger seat.

Jay turned off the engine and faced her, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"How did you know I was out here?"

"A.J just called me. He was frantic."

"I bet he was," Karen said sarcastically.

"What happened?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"No, he just said that you'd had some sort of argument and you'd gone off by yourself."

"Can you please just take me home and I'll explain everything there."

"But I thought you didn't have a key?"

"I didn't … A.J did. He had a key this entire time and he didn't say a word about it."

"Oh!" The blond man shook his head, "So let me get this straight, basically you're pissed at him for not leaving you alone in what you essentially be a strange house … thanks to the amnesia?"

"Exactly. Now can we please get out of here?"

"Sure, just wanted to make sure I understand what's going on." He was about to start the car when his cell phone rang. Jay glanced at his caller ID. "It's him. Do me a favour and don't say a word okay?"

Karen frowned, "Not like I want to talk to him, anyways."

Jay started the car and pulled away slowly, tapping the answer key on his cell phone, "Hey A.J, what's up?"

"Did you find her?" A.J frantic voice came through the speaker.

"Nope, not yet," the Canadian lied.

"God, I really hope nothing has happened to her. I'll never forgive myself if it has."

"Relax man, I'm sure she's fine. She's probably gotten a little further than I thought."

"Relax? My best friend has gone missing because of me and you want me to relax? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, you'll be no good to Karen if you're in the hospital with a heart attack."

"Right now, the only thing I care about is making sure she's safe. I can't believe I did something so stupid."

"I know it's none of my business but what did you do?"

A.J sighed heavily, "A while back, Karen gave me a spare key to their house. Kurt called earlier and told Karen about it. We got into a huge fight and she left."

"Why didn't you just go after her?" Jay asked.

"Because of something she said to me … she said, she thanked god that was I wasn't Kurt and she couldn't even imagine being married to someone like me."

Jay signalled and pulled over to the curb. He turned to look at Karen and raised an eyebrow.

Karen gave him a look of regret and whispered, "I was mad at him … I'm still mad at him."

"Dude, are you still there?"

"Yeah I'm still here, A.J. I'm sure Karen didn't mean that. This amnesia getting her down and with Kurt being away--"

"I still can't believe he left her at the hospital so he could go to Japan with Christy. JB called me last night and I didn't say anything to Karen about this because I didn't want to upset her but Jeff told Kurt not to even go to Japan but Kurt insisted."

"That's just how Kurt is. Karen knows that. She's been married to him for long enough."

"She deserves to be treated better though. Damnit, I've made such a mess of everything. Is there any sign of her?"

"I think I see her … yes it her. I'll call you later okay?"

"Oh thank god. Can you tell her I'm sorry?"

"I can do that, man. I gotta go." Jay hung up the phone and turned his attention to the brunette sitting next to him, "Still mad at him?"

"So maybe I overreacted a little … okay maybe a lot but you haven't heard the full story yet. Please can you drive me home and I'll explain everything?"

"Sure, I can do that." Jay put his car into gear and pulled away from the curb once more.

The rest of the five minute journey was made in silence, something Karen was thankfully for. She needed a few minutes to try and clear her head. She had no idea why she'd flown off the handle with A.J. She hardly knew him. As Jay brought the car to a stop in her driveway, Karen opened the door quickly and got out. She headed towards the house without waiting for her blond haired companion. Once inside, she stopped in the hallway unsure of which direction to take.

"Kitchen's that way," Jay said as he pointed to a door straight ahead of them.

"Thanks Jay." Karen stepped forward and opened the door to lead into a huge kitchen. "Wow, that's amazing."

"You have all the mod cons and then some."

"I can see that." She walked up the island in the middle of the floor after spotting something on the counter top. It was a cell phone. "Is this mine?"

"It sure is."

I'll take a look at it later. Maybe there is something there to help jog my memory."

"Let's hope so."

"Are you going to apologise to A.J for flying off the handle?"

Karen rolled her eyes, "Is it that important to you?"

"It is actually, A.J's a good guy. Granted he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer sometimes especially where you're involved but he does care about you."

"I guess I should cut him some slack and he's still cut up about his girlfriend leaving her …" Karen trailed off at the confused look on her friends face, "What?"

Jay folded his arms over his chest, "What girlfriend?"

"The girlfriend that's just left him. I'm not exactly sure how long ago it was but it's hit him hard."

"A.J hasn't had a girlfriend for eight months at least. The guys at work keep trying to hook him up with various chicks but he keeps blowing them off."

Karen made a face, "But he told me it was a recent thing. Unless he was lying to me about that too?"

"Or he was having an affair," Jay put in.

"What? No. I can't believe he lied to me again."

"Or maybe he was having an affair," the blond haired man repeated.

Karen rolled her eyes, "Would you please stop with the affair thing."

The Canadian shrugged, "I was just saying it was a possibility. That's all."

"Maybe but I still think he lied to me. Beside, if he had been having an affair they'd be some photographic evidence or something. All the pictures that I saw at his place were of him and me."

Jay smiled, "Exactly."

The brunette's stomach lurched, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Cover up."

"You really think so?" Karen asked. She swallowed hard, unsure about why she was getting so worked up about the fact that A.J had been having an affair with somebody. She didn't even know for sure but one thing Karen was sure of, she was going to find out.


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing as always.**

Chapter 8

Outside A.J Styles' Apartment, May 19, 2008

Originally Karen was going to wait until she arrived in Orlando to speak to A.J but after she'd woken up that morning she couldn't seem to get him off her mind. Her investigation into her cell phone had been pretty fruitless save for a couple of text messages from A.J which seemed to be in some sort of code, either that or A.J was the world's worse text message sender. The messages were just one of many things she planned on asking him. So instead, she'd called Jay and asked him to drop her off at A.J's before he left for work. Karen wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to wear for work, so she'd opted for jeans and a red ribbed tank top.

Deciding it was now or never, Karen pressed the bell next to A.J's door. She waited and waited. She was beginning to think that A.J wasn't in there when the door opened to reveal a dripping wet A.J wearing nothing but a white towel.

"Karen?"

"A.J, hi," Karen said, trying to ignore the fact he was standing there in just the towel.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to … I mean I've come here to …" Karen cleared her throat, "Excuse me. Can I come in?"

"Sure." A.J stepped aside, allowing the brunette access to his home.

Karen brushed passed him as she walked into the kitchen area. The TNA wrestler following closely behind her. She turned to face him, "A.J … First of all, I just wanted to say …Oh, you're dripping on the floor."

A.J looked down at the small wet patch that had formed on the black titled floor, "Ops, just give me a minute to put my pants on. Don't go anywhere."

As the dark haired man ran to his bedroom, Karen tucked a few stray strand of her hair behind her eye. It was a nervous habit she'd picked up years ago which had now become automatic. As she waited for A.J to reappear she went over in her mind just exactly she had to say to him. She needed to apologise to him for her behaviour yesterday. She was out of line talking to him that way. Then there was the mystery woman that had been A.J's girlfriend. Karen really needed to know who she was. She was starting to get a sinking feeling about the whole thing.

A.J returned a few minutes later, dressed in a black tee shirt with a TNA logo on it and dark blue jeans, "Right, that's better. Now, what did you want to talk about?" He scratched the back of his head, "I have to admit, after yesterday I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."

"You lied to me."

"Yes," A.J replied solemnly.

"Don't do it again."

"Believe me I won't."

"You'd better not. I have enough drama going on here with you adding to it."

"So we're good?"

"If you'll accept my apology for being such a bitch to you yesterday then yeah, we're good."

A.J smiled brightly at her, "You have no idea how happy you've just made me." Without warning, he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.

Giving her little choice but to return the hug, Karen felt her body relax in his arms. They stayed like that for a moment until the brunette heard a noise. She pulled back slightly, "Did you just smell my hair?"

"Um … yeah," A.J admitted, blushing slightly, "That Cherry Blossom shampoo is real nice."

"I'm not even going to ask how you know what shampoo I use." She smiled at him, "Can we go and sit down? I have a few things I need to get straight with you."

"Sure." He motioned for her to go ahead into the living room, "Ladies, first."

When the two were seated on the larger of the chocolate brown leather sofas, Karen turned to face A.J, "I know you said you didn't want to talk about it but there's something I need to know and you're the only one who can tell me."

Allen frowned, "What is it?"

"The woman, who broke your heart … Is she married?"

For a moment, A.J looked unsure of whether he should answer or not, "Yes," he said quietly, "She's married."

"Did she go back to her husband?"

"Yeah." He cast his blue eyes downwards to study the cream carpet on the floor.

"Who is she A.J?"

A.J looked up, "No more lies, right?"

"That's right."

"It's …" A.J trailed off as his telephone rang. "I should get that."

Karen let out a sigh of frustration as she watched A.J rise from the couch and answer the phone. He was pacing while he talked to whoever it was and wasn't looking very happy by the time he replaced the handset in it's cradle. "Who was that?"

"Cindy … She worked for Dixie Carter. Apparently Kurt has arranged for a car to pick you up from here and take you to Universal. It's waiting outside."

Karen made a face, "Kurt's done what?"

"Um … arranged for a car to pick you up," A.J repeated.

"Does he usually do that?"

A.J shook his head, "You usually go together or you drive yourself."

The brunette frowned, "We don't go there together?"

"No but sometimes if you're driving by yourself, we'll talk on the phone for the entire journey." He looked at his watch, "You better getting going, the driver will be waiting you for."

"But you haven't answered my question," Karen reminded him as she rose from the sofa.

Allen smiled at her, "We'll talk later, okay? I promise."

"Can't you just give me a name?"

The dark haired man shook his head, "It wouldn't be right."

Karen stepped forward, reaching out to touch his arm, "Please A.J I have to know. I don't know why but it's starting to drive me insane."

A.J closed his eyes, "I really don't think it's a good idea. Come and find me when you get there. I'm leaving soon too."

Karen pouted, "Why won't you just tell me?"

Before A.J could reply there was a loud knock on the door. He side stepped Karen was headed towards the door. Karen following closely behind. A.J opened the door.

A tall blond haired man dressed in a suit stood before them. "I'm here to pick up Mrs Angle."

A.J nodded, "She'll be right out. I'll just get you her bag. Can you take it to the car for her?"

"Certainly, Sir."

Allen moved away from the door and walked off towards the spare bedroom. Karen watched him return a few minutes later pulling a large black suitcase behind him.

Karen shot him a confused look, "What's in there?"

"It's all the stuff you'll need for the taping." He passed the suitcase to the man waiting just outside the apartment, "Mrs Angle will be right with you."

"Thank you, Sir." The driver turned and left, dragging Karen's case behind him.

"You should really go."

"Not until you give me a name."

"Ugh, why do you have to be so stubborn, woman?" He ran a hand through his still wet hair in frustration.

Karen crossed her arms, "I just need to know."

A.J closed the door again, "Okay but you're not going to like it. Karen ... Her name is Karen."

"You're having an affair with a woman who has the same name as me?" Karen asked dumbly.

"No, I was having an affair with a woman who is you."

Karen shook her head, "No, that's not possible."

Allen sighed heavily, "I told you this was a bad idea."

In her mind, Karen had started to suspect the truth, but suspecting and finding it to be reality were two different things. "I'm married to Kurt. I love him, I would never cheat on him. Does he know about this?"

"Not as far as I know. It's not exactly something we talked about … Karen, you gotta listen to me okay? We did mean for it to happen. We fought it for as long as we could. We were miserable."

"How long has this been going on for?"

"Eight months."

"Eight months? Are you kidding me?"

"You'd better go."

"You can't just tell me that and expect me to leave."

"You're going to have to. I know it sucks but you forced me to tell. I didn't want to tell you now. I wanted to wait," A.J reminded her.

Karen couldn't believe what she was hearing, "So this is my fault?"

"I'm not saying that." He reached out and took hold of her hand, rubbing it gently with his own, "I'm just trying to explain to you why I didn't want to tell you about it right now."

The brunette looked down at their hands, "A.J I don't know what to say to you. I don't remember any of this, I don't remember us."

"I know and it's killing me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be around you … to love you as much as I do and know you don't remember loving me back?"

Karen's free hand shot to her mouth, "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should go."

A.J nodded slowly and released her hand, "I'll see you later okay?"

"Okay," Karen said, blinking back tears she hadn't expected. Without saying another word, she opened the door and slipped into the hallway. As the door closed behind her, Karen jumped at the loud bang which followed. Obviously A.J had taken his frustration out on the wooden object.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Once again I own nothing.**

**  
Author note: I realised last week that I messed up with the date of the tapings so for the sake of the story the tapings will be held on the Monday and Tuesday (19th & 20th May) and then they have time off until the PPV.**

Chapter 9

iMPACT Tapings, Unverisal Studios, Orlando, Florida, May 19, 2008

Things had been crazy for Karen since she arrived at the studios. She'd been approached by dozens of people, most of which she didn't recognise, asking about her well being. Karen knew they meant well but the shear volume of them made Karen feel worse, there was so many people in her life that she couldn't remember. Luckily for her, Karen has been saved from twenty questions by Gail Kim who Karen had spoken to on the phone that morning when she'd called Jay. Gail had taken her to the Women's locker room. To Karen's surprise when she'd opened her locker she only found two things, a picture of her and the other Knockouts at last years Christmas party and a snow globe. The snow globe seemed familiar to her but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The brunette shook the glass object and watched the snow inside fall to the ground.

"That's really pretty isn't it?" Gail said.

"Yeah, I wonder why I have it in my locker."

"A.J gave it to you."

"Yes, that's right," Karen replied, suddenly remembering why the snow globe was familiar. She'd seen it on the DVD of their honeymoon over at A.J's apartment.

"Do you remember it?" the former TNA women's champion asked.

Karen shook her head, "No, A.J showed me the dvd of our honeymoon on Impact."

"Oh, right. For a minute there I was hoping that it had jogged your memory."

"No such luck," Karen said miserably.

"I'm sure you'll remember soon."

"I really hope so. This amnesia thing sucks. Do you know if A.J or Kurt are here yet? I didn't see either of them back there with the others"

"Kurt is here. He and Christy came here straight from Japan." Gail replied.

"Who's Christy?" Karen asked. She'd heard the name mentioned the other day but she hadn't really been paying that much attention.

"She's another Knockout. She went on the promotional tour with Kurt. Christy's a nice girl. She used to work for WWE too." For a moment Gail adverted her eyes away from Karen. "Do you want to go look for Kurt? Maybe he and A.J will be together."

"Maybe," Karen replied.

"How is A.J? Did you guys sort out your misunderstanding this morning?"

"Yeah … we're good now."

"Poor guy is taking this whole thing pretty hard. Jay was talking to him on the phone last night for like over an hour," the Canadian explained.

"Really? A.J didn't say he'd spoken to Jay."

"Jay spends half his time on the phone these days. Our phone bill is huge!" Gail joked. "Anyways, let's go find Kurt."

Karen nodded before placing the snow globe back in the locker and closing the door. She followed Gail out of the locker room and into the hallway. They'd been walking for a few minutes when they came across just the men they were looking for.

"I'll leave you it to," Gail said.

"Thanks Gail, I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Gail replied as she walked back into the direction the two had come in.

"Hi guys."

A.J nodded a hello while Kurt just sort of grunted. He hadn't seemed to even notice the brunette was even there. He seemed too busy messing with his phone.

"Hi Kurt."

Finally the former TNA champion looked up, "Oh hi Karen. Where have you been?" He asked.

"In the women's locker room with Gail," Karen replied. "How was your trip? Did you have fun?"

"I've just got off a fifteen and a half hour flight from Japan do you think that's fun?" Kurt snapped.

Karen frowned, "I was only asking."

To her surprise Kurt smiled at her, "Sorry for snapping, I'm just tired. How are you?"

"Better now I'm out of that hospital," Karen said, returning the smile. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Kurt replied. The tone in his voice suggested that it was an automatic reply and he didn't really mean what he was saying.

Out of the corner of her eye, Karen saw A.J scowl but said nothing. She still needed to continue her talk with A.J but with Kurt around, she wasn't sure that was going to be possible any time soon.

"I need to go and find Russo about the script." A.J said suddenly, "I'll see you guys later." He walked off quickly leaving the Angles alone.

An hour later, Kurt and Karen were alone in one of the rooms that doubled as Kurt's locker room when they were filming. At Kurt's request, they had been left alone for Karen to study the script. The more the brunette read the script the more terrified she became. She couldn't remember doing anything like this before and was convinced she was going to screw it up.

"I don't think I can do this."

"Sure, you can," Kurt replied. Again he wasn't really paying attention to his wife, he was sending a text message on his cell phone.

"Kurt, you're not listening to me … I don't think I can do this."

Kurt put his cell phone into the front pocket on his black pants, "What do you mean you don't think you can do this? You have to do this. If you don't, it's gonna make TNA look bad, yourself look bad and more importantly me look bad."

"But …"

"But nothing Karen, you just gotta suck it up. You're only gonna be on screen for a few minutes and most of that will be pre-taped this afternoon."

"Kurt, please."

"Please what? Go to Jeff and ask him to change all the script at the last minute to accommodate you? Would you like me to do that?"

"Yes."

Kurt shook his head, "Ain't gonna happen."

"What's not gonna happen?" A.J asked as he walked into the locker room.

"Karen wants me to get the script changed because she doesn't want to do it." Kurt rolled his eyes, "Maybe you can talk some sense into her. I'm gonna go talk to Booker about tonight." Without saying another word, Kurt stormed out of the room.

"Man, he's such a jerk sometimes." A.J stepped forward so he was stand mere inches away from the brunette.

Karen felt like she was going to cry, "A.J, I can't do this. I don't know what I'm doing. I've read this script like a hundred times now and I can't get it into my head."

"Hey," A.J said slowly as he reached out and stroked her right cheek gently, "Of course you can do this … you're a natural and the camera loves you."

Karen blushed slightly, "But what if I make a mess of it and ruin the whole thing?"

"Then we do another tape even if you mess up in front of the crowd by the ring. You have amnesia, Sweetheart, nobody's gonna expect you to perform like you would have two week ago."

"Kurt does," Karen pointed out.

"Then he's an idiot. Forget about Kurt for a minute and just focus on what you have to do. We'll go find JB in a minute and we can have a go over the script until your comfortable okay?" He paused for a moment, "You're still not happy about it are you? Look, you are the best damn Knockout in the company—"

"I can't wrestle."

"I wasn't talking about wrestling and maybe I'm a little bias … okay maybe a lot."

Karen laughed, "You're a sweet guy A.J. Thanks for trying to make me feel better."

"You're welcome but I mean it. Just look at yourself, you're gorgeous … plus you have a secret weapon." He took hold her wrist and gently pulled up her hand between them.

"My hand?"

He gently released her wrist, "It's not just a hand, it's a deadly weapon." A.J said seriously, "Many a man has fallen victim to it already. Kurt, Brother Ray, Christian … the list just goes on and on."

Karen smiled nervously at him, "I slapped them?"

"Not just any slap, it's the Karen Angle slap. Luckily, A.J Styles has not been on the receiving end of one of those bad boys."

Karen bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. Suddenly, she wasn't feeling as nervous any more. "Then how do you know it's so deadly?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Because … A.J Styles may not have been slapped but Allen Jones has."

The brunette looked horrified, "I slapped you?"

"Yeah but I deserved it, I was being an ass," A.J admitted. When he saw that Karen didn't look convinced he added, "Since we've been seeing each other we hardly argue at all because there's really no point but this happened when we were both trying so hard to fight the attraction between us."

"Oh … I'm sor--"

A.J put a finger up to her mouth to silence her, "Don't ever be sorry, that slap started everything between us and believe me, you really made it up to me."

"I did?"

A.J gave her a cheeky grin, "Oh yeah!"

The brunette blushed, "Oh my gosh, that's kind of embarrassing actually."

"Then it's time for us to go and find JB. Still feeling nervous?"

"A little."

"Don't be, you are gonna kick this pre-tape's ass." He shuffled backwards slightly to make a bit of room in between them and stuck out his hand, palm side down, "Hand in the middle, let's go Missy."

Karen placed her hand on top of Allen's unsure of what the dark haired man had in mind.

"Team Karen on three … one, two, three …"

"Team Karen!"

As they walked out of the room, Karen wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. The next few hours were going to be interesting to say the least. Karen just hoped that A.J's faith in her wasn't unfounded and she didn't mess up too bad. Only time would tell.


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Still not owning anything over here.**

Chapter 10

Male Locker Room, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, May 19, 2008

The locker room was empty save for A.J and Kurt. Kurt had been dressed for the last ten minutes but hadn't left on the account he seemed to be waiting for A.J. The dark haired man didn't like it, it made him feel nervous.

"Hey dude, can I ask you a favour?" Kurt asked.

"Sure," A.J replied, pulling his TNA tee shirt over his head, "What's up?"

"It's about Karen."

A.J's heart sank, "What about Karen?"

"Can she stay with you for a couple of weeks?"

"What?"

"I know it's kind of short notice and everything but I'm supposed to be going to Hollywood tomorrow to start filming a new project and I'd feel better if I knew Karen wasn't on her own with the whole amnesia thing and all."

"Oh? Aren't you going to be at the tapings tomorrow?"

"No, me and Karen taped the bit for that earlier. I'd cancel but these opportunities don't come around everyday and besides, Karen loves spending time with you. It could even help her jog that memory of hers." Kurt smiled, "What do you say?"

"Doesn't Karen want to go with you?"

"I haven't told her about it yet. I was going to but things have been crazy back here tonight," Kurt explained.

A.J shook his head slightly, he really didn't understand Kurt sometimes. "If Karen doesn't want to go with you, she's welcome to stay at my place."

"I knew you wouldn't let me down. Thanks man."

"Don't thank me, I'm not doing it for you … I'm doing it for Karen."

"Oh believe me, I know all about what you're doing for Karen."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kurt looked A.J dead in the eyes, "I know all about you and Karen. The affair you've been having."

A.J's jaw dropped, "I … I mean …"

"You really thought I didn't know?"

"Well, actually no," the dark haired man admitted.

"Oh please. You guys were so obvious."

"…"

"What's the matter A.J? You got nothing to say?"

A.J lowered his head. He'd been dreading having to have this conversation with Kurt for months but for the most part Kurt hadn't reacted to the way A.J thought he would. "We didn't mean for it to happen."

"And that's supposed to make it all right?"

"No!"

"Well I'm glad we agree on something. Look when I first found out about you and Karen, I was pissed. I wanted to kill you but then I realised something … Me and Karen? We're over. We should never have got back together after we split the last time."

"Is that why you've been sleeping with Christy Hemme?" A.J asked.

Kurt looked shocked, "Looks like you're not the only one who thought his secret was safe. Have you told Karen?"

A.J shook his head, "No, not even before this whole amnesia nightmare."

"Why not? Did it make you feel better?"

Again A.J shook his head, "It wasn't my place to tell her. So, where do we go from here?"

"You better hope Karen gets her memory back real soon or the next few months are going to be hell for you because right now she thinks she's still in love with me."

"Dude, she does still love you."

"I know and I love her. Probably always will … We're just not in love anymore," the bald man admitted. "You better take care of her or I will hunt you down."

A.J couldn't believe what was happening. He'd never expected Kurt to react this way, "I promise to take good care of her."

"Good." Without warning, Kurt punched A.J hard in the nose.

A.J staggered backwards, "Son of a …" His hand shot up to hold his nose.

"You really didn't expect to get away with banging my wife without me doing something to you, did you?" He paused for a moment, "Oh you did? You gotta a lot to learn about life, Kid." He picked up this suitcase, "I'm going to find Karen and tell her about tomorrow. I can trust you won't be telling her about our conversation?" He didn't wait for a reply before he walked out of the room, leaving A.J, with blood trickling from his nose, alone in the locker room.

Outside A.J Styles' Apartment Building, Tampa Florida, May 20, 2008

Karen had been waiting outside A.J's apartment building since around midnight. The driver who had taken to her to Orlando had also dropped her back off thirty minutes 

ago. It wasn't until the car had pulled off that the brunette noticed that A.J's truck wasn't parked outside and when she'd gone upstairs and received no answer from him when she knocked on the door, she confirmed that A.J wasn't home yet. She'd called Jay to see if he knew why A.J was but neither her or Gail had seen him. Jay had made Karen promise to call him back if A.J didn't arrive soon. Karen was just about to make that call when A.J's truck pulled up outside.

A.J opened the driver's side door and slammed it behind him. Grumbling to himself, he walked around and opened the trunk, removing his suitcase quickly. He was still muttering to himself when he noticed Karen perched on the edge of her suitcase, "Karen? What are you doing here?"

The TNA knockout bit her lip for a moment before answering, "Kurt's had to go out of town, he told me you said it was all right for me to stay with you."

"Oh I bet he did," A.J said sarcastically.

"A.J is something wrong?"

"No, everything's just peachy keen," A.J replied in the same sarcastic tone he'd just used a moment ago. He walked passed Karen as he entered the building. After a few second he seemed to notice that she wasn't following him, "Are you coming in or what?"

Karen wasn't sure what had happened to A.J. The kind hearted man she'd been getting to know had seemingly vanished into thin air to be replaced by this angry, sarcastic man Karen didn't think she liked very much. "I'm coming," she said slowly.

The ride in the elevator was made in silence, A.J kept his focus dead ahead of him and Karen wasn't sure what to say. As the doors opened, A.J waited for Karen to leave first and followed close behind her as she walked out.

Karen side stepped when they reached the apartment door, allowing A.J to open it. He switched on the lights in the kitchen area and living room as he entered before tossing his keys on one of the kitchen worktops. Once they were both inside, he turned to the brunette, "I'm going to bed, help yourself to something to eat if you're hungry. Night." He started to walk off.

"A.J …" Karen trailed off when he turned back to look at her, his handsome face was still scowling, "Good night." She smiled weakly at him.

A.J walked off towards his bedroom and slammed the door making the brunette jump. "What the hell has gotten into you A.J?" Karen muttered to herself. She stood in the living room for a moment before decided she better go to bed too.

Karen had been asleep for a least a couple of hours when she began to stir. It was like she could sense she was being watched, cautiously she opened her eyes and gasped when she found A.J sitting on the bed next to her, dressed in only a pair of plain boxers. She scrambled to sit up and switched the light on the nightstand on, allowing her to see him properly, "Oh my god, A.J … You scared me."

"I'm really sorry, Karen. I didn't mean to," A.J said, all traces of the aggressive tone he'd used early had gone.

"What time is it?"

"Just gone 3 am," A.J replied.

Karen rubbed her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"I couldn't sleep," the dark haired man admitted, "So I came to apologise to you for my behaviour, earlier. I was real jerk … But then you were asleep and you looked so peaceful."

"You have nothing to apologise for, A.J. Sure I was a little surprised by the way you were acting but everybody's entitled to be pissed off every now and then."

"I still shouldn't have taken it out on you. You've done nothing wrong."

Karen gave him a small smile, "If it makes you feel better I accept your apology."

A.J returned the smile, "Thanks, sweetheart,"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The TNA wrestler seemed to hesitate for a moment, "It just … this is going to sound really selfish but it's this whole amnesia thing. It's really starting to piss me off. I want my best friend back. Hell, I want my girlfriend back. I want to touch you, to kiss you and show you how much I love you." A.J paused for a moment and he glanced down at the bed, "And I can't do any of those things." He looked up and shook his head, "Man, I'm such a wuss."

Without warning, Karen learned forward and hugged A.J, "I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry I don't remember you."

After a moment A.J pulled back, "What was that for?"

Karen shrugged, "You just looked like you needed a hug."

"I should go, you need to get some sleep."

"You can stay for a while if you like until I fall asleep?"

A.J nodded, "I'd like that."

Karen slid back down under the covers, "Good night, A.J."

"Good night, Karen. Sweet dreams."


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: As Always, I own nothing.**

**Author's Note: This may or may not be the last chapter for about three weeks. I'm going to Florida on Saturday for two weeks and I'm not sure if I will be able to write anymore before I go. I'll try my best. Thanks for the reviews.  
**

Chapter 11

When Karen awoke later that morning, she found herself practically resting on top of A.J who had obviously fallen asleep before he'd had chance to leave. "Oh my god," Karen said to herself, "Get out of this one without moving, genius!" A.J had one arm wrapped around her back and his other hand was resting on her butt. She wriggled backwards slightly, hoping the motion would make A.J release the hold he had on her without waking him up. Karen found she had no such luck as A.J began to stir.

He opened his eyes and looked lovingly at the brunette, "Morning, gorgeous."

Karen laughed nervously, "Hi. Don't know how I got over here."

A.J pulled her even closer to him and kissed her nose, "I was just having his really freaky dream … You'd been in a car accident and you had amnesia and you didn't remember me. And Kurt knew all about us and punched me on the nose." He paused for a moment, "Talk about a total nightmare."

"A.J that's not a dream. I do have amnesia," Karen said quietly.

A.J shook his head quickly to try and clear it, "But I have my hand on your butt."

"Kinda noticed that."

"Oh …" A.J trailed off but didn't move his hand. He closed his eyes for a moment, "I remember now. I came to see you last night." Allen opened his eyes again.

"You were so mad. Do I get to know what got you so pissed off?"

A.J looked hesitant for a moment before deciding to speak, "I wasn't going to tell you because Kurt told me not to but you know what, screw Kurt. I never said I wouldn't tell you."

"What's Kurt got to do with it?"

"Everything."

"A.J?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you take your hand off my butt before you tell me?"

"Oh duh! Sorry." He blushed slightly and moved both his hands from her body allowing Karen to move away from him.

"Thank you."

A.J smiled sadly at her and then sat up, "You're not going to like this but we agreed no more lies so … Kurt punched me in the nose last night when we were alone in the locker room."

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"I am now," A.J replied.

"Why did he do that?" the brunette asked.

"He told me that he knew about our affair. He's known for months apparently."

Karen began to get nervous. If Kurt knew about the affair he was bound to be pissed off about it. Maybe that's why Kurt had been acting the way he had towards her. "Well, things are starting to make sense now. That much be why Kurt's been treating me …" she trailed off when she saw A.J shaking his head. "Why not?"

The dark haired man sighed heavily, "Because there is something else you don't remember."

Karen put her head in the hands, "This just keeps getting worse. What else is there A.J?"

"You're not the only one being unfaithful in your marriage. Kurt's been having an on off affair with Christy Hemme since June 2005," Allen informed her.

Karen's jaw dropped, "What?"

"I'm really sorry you had to find out like this, sweetheart." A.J reached out and stroked her arm gently.

"Oh my god, I can't believe this." The TNA knockout tried in vain to blink back the tears in her eyes, "And you're telling me I knew about this?"

"You're the one who told me about it … It's kinda how we became friends in the first place."

"I don't understand."

"In August 2005, Vince McMahon found out that Kurt and Christy were having an affair. He had Christy traded to Smackdown to split them up. It didn't stop and Christy was fired, obviously that wasn't the reason they gave for it." A.J paused for a moment and ran a hand through his hair, "In April 2006, Christy signed for TNA and became a knockout and you and Kurt split up."

"What?"

"You got back together a few months later when Kurt left the WWE and signed for TNA. Things were okay for a couple of months but then Kurt and Christy started sleeping together again."

"So I started sleeping with you instead?"

"No!" A.J shook his head, "It wasn't like that."

Karen wiped the tears that were running down her cheeks with her hand, "Then what was it like, Allen?"

"When Kurt signed for TNA you started to come with him to the PPVs and the tapings. I'd seen you around but we hadn't really talked. In all honesty I find it hard to talk to women … I don't know why I just do."

Karen opened her mouth to interrupt him but he silenced her by holding up a finger in front of her mouth, "Let me finish … Like I said, I find it hard to talk to women. Then one night during the tapings I found you in the men's bathroom, crying just like you are now. You wouldn't tell me what was wrong and you wouldn't let me go and get Kurt either. Eventually you stopped crying … nothing to do with me, I was no help at all and you left. It wasn't until I saw you again at the hotel after the tapings. "

"Hotel?"

"This was before we both moved to Florida. You were still living in Pittsburgh and I was living in Atlanta. The wrestlers that don't live in Florida stay at one of the local hotels in Orlando. We were staying at the same one … obviously. You were at the bar, totally off your face and you kept calling me Christopher Daniels." A.J shrugged, "I have no idea why, I look nothing like Chris but anyways, I kept trying to tell you I wasn't Chris and ended up putting my cell phone number into your cell phone and I put yours into mine."

By this time, Karen has stopped crying completely, her attention was fully on A.J, "Then what happened?"

"With the amount of alcohol you'd drunk, you started to get pretty loud. It was kind of embarrassing really. So we left … I walked you back to your room and that was pretty much it. The next morning you sent me this text message, thanking me for helping you out. I still have that text on my phone."

"Aww … Can I see it?"

A.J made a face, "You really want to see it? Right now?"

"Right now, please."

"Okay but only because I can't say no to you. Man, I'm so whipped. I'll be right back." He pulled back the covers and got out of bed quickly. He walked out of the room. Less than a minute later he returned carrying his cell phone. The TNA wrestler sat back down on the bed but didn't get back under the covers. He turned on the phone and waited for a moment until it was ready to use. "I just need to find it … I have a lot of messages from you saved on here." He scrolled through his inbox until he found the one he wanted or so he thought, "Oh, no! … That's not the one. You don't want to be seeing that one."

Karen raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

A.J blushed and dipped his head slightly, "It's kinda rude."

"Let me see …" Without warning, she reached out and took the phone out of his hand."

"I really don't think you should …"

"Oh … My … God!" Karen said when she'd read the text, "When did I send you this?"

"Three weeks ago."

"Why on earth do you still have it on there?"

"Because I like to read it," A.J admitted honestly. "If you press the back button and then scroll down a couple more of the message you'll find the one I was going to show you."

Karen did as A.J had instructed and found the correct text message without further problems.

"I don't know why I kept that one … I just did. Anyways, after that we started to text each other every few days just to catch up …" A.J trailed off when he realised that she wasn't listening to him. "Karen?"

"Huh?" Karen looked up from the phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm reading some of the message I sent you."

"Do you think that's such a good idea?"

Karen shrugged, "It can't make things worse." She went back to looking at the messages for a moment. She cringed when she read the next one of his phone and then looked up at A.J, "I love you, Snuggle Bear?"

A.J laughed loudly, "That one is a standing joke. And I just have to point out, Snuggle Bear is not my pet name and should not be used on any occasion."

"Oh really?"

A.J made a face, "You don't believe me?"

Karen sniggered, A.J was kind of cute when he was protesting, "Sure, I believe you."

"Whatever!" A.J replied dramatically, causing the brunette to laugh even more.

It took Karen a minute to regain her composure, "I'm sorry …. Snuggle Bear," she barely managed to finish her sentence before bursting into laughter.

"Oh sure, laugh it up. Your pet name is Sexy Butt."

If it had been A.J's plan to stop Karen from laughing with his revelation, it didn't work she just laughed even harder until her stomach was starting to hurt and she had tears in her eyes. "A.J, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. It isn't even that funny."

"I'm just happy to see you laughing again. Even if it's at my expense."

"I'm happy to be laughing again … Oh..."

"What's the matter?" Did you remember something?"

"No, on Sunday night when I was at home, I found my cell phone. There were some text messages from you on there that didn't make any sense. I was going to ask you about them," Karen explained.

"Oh let me guess, one of them was SB, I L Y, SB. Am I right?" A.J asked.

"Yeah … what is that?"

A.J grinned, "Sexy Butt, I love you, Snuggle Bear. We did it in code in case Kurt went looking through your phone."

Karen eyed him suspiciously, "I thought you didn't like being called Snuggle Bear?"

"Honestly, I hate it and you take pleasure in tormenting me with it. You may have already noticed that I'm a hot head," Allen admitted.

The brunette nodded, "I did kind of notice that last night."

"When I get that like, you just got to ignore me. I usually go and take out my frustration on a couple of pillows."

Karen raised an eyebrow, "Pillows?"

"Yeah or cushions, anything soft that I can beat the hell out of without hurting myself. After that, I'm usually good to go again."

"Poor pillow."

"Hey, I caught you doing it once too. You were kind of pretending it was Kurt at the time."

Karen waved it off, "From what you've told me, he probably deserved it."

"Oh yeah." He looked into Karen's dark eyes, "Are you hungry because I am starving and I gotta leave for the tapings soon."

"Now that you mention it, I am kinda hungry."

A.J rubbed his hands together, "I know just the thing to fill you up." He stood, "I'll be back soon." He started to walk off.

"A.J?"

He turned back to face her, "Yeah?"

"Can I come with you to the tapings? I mean, they don't need me but I'd like to go with you."

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks … And A.J?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you making for breakfast?" Karen asked.

"It's a surprise."

"But what if I don't like it?" Karen protested.

"Oh, you'll like it all right," A.J replied, giving Karen a wink before walking into the hallway.

It wasn't until A.J had completed disappeared that Karen realised he never finished telling her the end of the story. She decided that would be just one of the things they would be discussing over breakfast.


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes: Back in the UK from my trip to Florida. Got to see A.J, Karen and Christian a few times :). **

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

Chapter 12

A.J had been gone about ten minutes before Karen decided to check out what he was making for breakfast. Even through he said it was a surprise, the brunette's curiosity was peaked as to what A.J was preparing for her. She'd changed from the navy tank top and matching boy shorts she was wearing earlier into a pair of blue jeans and white fitted tee shirt. As she headed out of the bedroom she could hear music coming from the kitchen area. A.J obviously had the radio and was singing along loudly to disco inferno by Tina Turner. When Karen rounded the corner, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. A.J, still dressed in only his black boxer shirts was standing with his back towards her, dancing … pretty badly. She placed her hands on her hips and waited for him to notice her, trying her best not to laugh. She didn't have to wait long.

The song ending almost immediately and A.J turned around, "Oh hey. I didn't hear you come in."

"I wonder why … Having fun?"

A.J shrugged casually, "Yeah." If it had been Karen's intension to embarrass the TNA wrestler, it wasn't working.

"Do you do that a lot?"

"What?"

"Dance around the kitchen in your underwear."

"Noooo," He gave her a cheeky grinning before adding, "Usually I'm naked."

Karen's jaw dropped, "Are you serious?"

"Nah, I'm just kidding. Being naked in the kitchen can be very dangerous."

The brunette laughed nervously, "Okay then. I just came to see if you needed a hand with breakfast."

"Thanks for the offer but everything's under control. All I need to you do is take a seat at the table and I'll bring it over in just a minute," A.J replied.

Karen stepped forward, to try and get a better view of whatever A.J was cooking. "What is it?"

"It's a surprise … you'll just have to wait. Now sit!"

"Yes sir," Karen replied sarcastically.

A loud beeping noise started causing A.J to turn his attention back to the appliance in the kitchen. A minute later, he was at the table placing a plate of waffle in front of the TNA knockout. "It's your favourite … waffles."

"But I don't like waffles," Karen said immediately.

"Sure you do."

Karen shook her head, "No, I don't. I never eat them."

A.J smiled at her, "Maybe you don't remember eating them or even liking them. But I promise you, you love these waffles. It's a special fifty year old recipe that my grandmother taught me. Plus I made them on the Wafflepro Waffle Iron. It cost nearly two hundred bucks. I bought it because it makes the waffles just how you like them … Crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. Yummy."

"You spent two hundred bucks on a waffle iron just for me? … That's so sweet."

A.J didn't reply, he was too busy applying the Maple Syrup to the waffles. "There ya go, enjoy."

"Thanks," Karen said hesitantly. Certain, she wasn't going to like the food on the plate in front of her, the brunette picked up her knife and folk and began eating, "These are really good."

Once again A.J didn't reply, he just gave her a 'told you so' look which both amused and confused Karen at the same time. How could another man know her so well and she couldn't remember him at all. How did she get so close to another man? From what A.J had told her, her marriage to Kurt was pretty much dead in the water but before Karen could give it any further thought she looked up and saw A.J giving her a concerned look, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking," Karen replied honestly, placing another folk full of waffle into her mouth.

"What about?"

"You, actually."

A.J looked at her intently, "What about me?"

"Oh, not much. Just pretty much …everything."

"I know I keep repeating myself, but I'm not going to say I understand or having any idea about what you're going through because I don't. And I'm trying to control myself and not get too close to you but it's real hard, you know?"

Karen gave him a sad smile, "And I know I keep saying this too but I'm sorry I don't remember you, it would be so much easier if I did."

A.J cast his blue eyes down towards the floor, "Don't be … It's not your fault."

"It's not your fault either," Karen pointed out.

"Then we agree, it's nobody's fault just a terrible accident. Look why don't you finish your breakfast and I'll go take a shower and then we can head out to work."

"Aren't you going to eat anything?"

The dark haired man shook his head, "Nah, I just had a fruit smoothie I usually grab something to eat at Universal a bit later. Now eat up before it gets cold." A.J stood up and headed towards the bathroom.

A.J returned from his bedroom dress in a pale blue tee shirt and light stonewashed blue jeans, that were ripped at the knee on the right leg. Karen was sat in the living room looking through a photo album she'd found on the coffee table. Inside the album were hundreds of pictures of her and A.J. She was currently looking at one where they were standing in front of what appeared to be the Eiffel Tower. She glanced up at A.J as he sat down next to her, "When was this taken?"

"Two months ago for our six month anniversary. I took you to Paris for a week."

Karen's jaw dropped, "Oh my gosh, I've always wanted to go to Paris … And again I'm guessing you already knew that."

A.J nodded, "Hence, the surprise trip to Paris."

"It was a surprise?"

"Yup."

Karen shot him a sceptical look, "What did we tell Kurt?"

"It was his idea," A.J replied.

"What?"

"Or a least he thinks it was."

Karen gave him a confused look as she shut the photo album, "You've lost me."

"I wanted to take you to Paris so I mentioned to Kurt that I was going and he suggested that I take you with me because you'd been …" A.J trailed off.

"I'd been what?" Karen urged.

"Busting his chops about going to Paris for ages."

Karen frowned, "Typical Kurt. And he didn't care that I went to one of the most romantic cities in the world with another man?"

"I don't know why and at the time I didn't really care. All that mattered was we went to Paris together and I managed to keep the whole thing a secret until we were at the airport."

"I bet I was surprised."

"Oh yeah … you were so happy that you cried."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the whole trip was amazing."

"I can't believe I don't remember any of it. Not even a teeny tiny bit."

A.J sighed heavily, "I'm sure it will come back to you sooner or later if not I'm just going to have to take you again."

Karen looked shocked, "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course."

"Aw, that's so sweet."

"And in the meantime, there is a DVD of our trip if you want to watch it sometime? I took it with my video camera."

"Do we have time now? I'd really like to see it."

"Yeah, we have plenty of time." A.J rose from the couch and opened a drawer under the television screen. He pulled out a DVD case and removed the disc from inside. After placing the disc in the player, he grabbed the remote control and returned to his spot next to Karen, "Are you ready?" he asked as he sat down.

"As I'll ever be," Karen replied honestly. She wasn't really sure what to expect but this was her first chance to witness herself with A.J without it being for TNA.

Allen pressed the play button and after a few seconds Karen appeared on the screen, she was smiling brightly.

"This is at the hotel we were staying in," A.J informed her."

"Right," Karen replied as he heard A.J's voice on the DVD asking her if she was having a good time.

"Are you kidding me? I love it here and I love you."

"Excuse me, can you repeat that last bit. I didn't quite hear it."

"Oh really? Come down with a case of selective hearing have we?"

A.J Laughed, "Yeah."

Karen laughed too, "You're such a liar, Allen Lloyd Jones."

"Oh god, she used the full name, I'm in trouble now."

The brunette looked directly into the camera, "You better believe it Buddy."

"Please don't hurt me."

Karen laughed again, "You're such a dork."

"It's all part of my boyish charm. You know you love me."

Karen's expression turned serious, "More than anything."

"I love you too."

"I know … why don't you switch off the camera and I'll show you exactly how much."

"What did you have in mind?" A.J asked.

"Just turn off the damn camera before I change my mind."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

The screen went blank for a second before coming back on. The camera was now pointing at A.J. Karen could hear herself asking A.J if he was having a good time.

"Phenomenal."

"That's one of our standing jokes too," A.J informed her.

Karen nodded as she heard herself asking Allen what he wanted to do today

"We could go up the Eiffel Tower?" A.J suggested, "But first breakfast."

"Okay, but you gotta let me pay this time. I haven't paid for a single thing since we got here."

"That's the idea you know," A.J said as he rolled his eyes.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?"

"No! I would never … ever do such a thing."

"Sure you would and I have the camera. I have it all on tape. You just rolled your eyes."

A.J grinned towards the camera, "What ya gonna do about it?"

The camera was placed down and suddenly Karen appeared dressed in only some matching red lacy underwear. She launched herself on top of A.J.

"Stop that, it's tickles."

"That's the general idea now say you're sorry."

"Nooo!"

"Say it."

"Nooo." A.J burst out laughing as Karen found a real ticklish spot. "Quit it."

"Not until you beg for mercy," the brunette teased.

"Ain't gonna happen. And I just want to point out I could take control of this situation anytime I want to."

Karen stopped tickling him, "Oh really?"

Without further warning A.J flipped them over so he was on top, "Yes really."

"That's cheating."

The A.J next to her reached to point the remote control at the screen, "We should probably turn this off."

She turned to face him, "Why?"

"Because we're about to make out."

"Leave it … please."

"Okay."

Karen watched as A.J leaned down and kissed her passionately.

"I'm just going to the bathroom," A.J said leaving the brunette alone in the living room again.

When the screen went blank again, Karen pressed pause on the remote control. It was become clearer and clearer how much in love she and A.J were and how hard this must be for him too. Why did things have to be so complicated?


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing over here.**

Chapter 13

A.J Styles' apartment, Tampa, Florida, May 20, 2008

Karen had been sat on the couch waiting for A.J's return for the last few minutes. She still couldn't get over how in love with A.J she looked on the DVD. Now when she looked at him she didn't really feel anything for him. Sure, he was a really nice guy, good looking and he treated her like a princess. "This must be so hard for him," she whispered. The phone rang and as A.J was still in the bathroom Karen decided to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hey you, it's me," a male voice replied.

"Who is this?" Karen joked, pretending not to recognise the caller's voice.

"Like you don't know. I was actually calling to see if you needed a ride to work."

"Thanks for the offer, Jay but A.J is taking me," Karen replied.

"Okay … Cool, just thought I'd ask."

"That was very sweet of you."

"What can I say, I'm a sweet guy."

Karen laughed, "I think we'll be leaving soon. I was just watching a DVD of a trip me and A.J took to Paris."

Jay sighed loudly, "Oh yes, you did not shut up about that trip for weeks. Nothing coming back to you yet?"

"No, it's so frustrating."

"I bet A.J's having a hard time keeping his hands off you."

Karen frowned despite that fact the blond man couldn't see her, "What do you mean?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean. I know about you and A.J. Why do you think I kept banging on about A.J having an affair with a married woman?"

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because I was trying to be subtle."

"You subtle? Are you kidding me?"

"You wound me, Special K. You really do."

"Wow, I haven't been called that in a while … unless you call me it all the time these days?"

"Nope, not really," the blond man replied.

"Thank god … I'm so sick of finding out most of my life has completed changed. I found out this morning that I love waffles. Can you believe that? I mean waffles."

The Canadian laughed, "A.J spent a whole bunch of money on that special waffle iron for you so yeah, I can."

Karen scratched her head, "Yeah, he mentioned that. He's such a sweet guy."

"He's adorable," Jay said sarcastically. "Anyways, back to the subject at hand, you and A.J."

"How did you find out?"

"You told me," Jay informed her.

"I did? When?" Karen couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Eight months ago. I've known from the start." Jay replied.

"Kurt knows."

"Yeah, you told him … The day of the accident, actually."

Karen's jaw dropped, "What?"

"You told him you were leaving him and wanted a divorce."

"Does A.J know about this? I mean he hasn't said anything to me about it."

"He's not said anything to me either so I don't think so."

Karen had a sudden thought, "Jay, I have to go, I'll see you later okay? Bye." She hung up the phone and moved into the kitchen. She pressed play on the answer machine and waited for the saved message to start playing … 'Hey you. I've been thinking about you all morning. Last night was just so perfect. I have something really important to tell you so call me when you get this message. Love ya.' Things were all starting to make sense, "That must be what I was going to tell A.J. I was leaving Kurt."

A.J appeared behind her from the bathroom, "Everything okay?"

"No, not really," Karen admitted.

A.J frowned, "What's wrong?"

"That was Jay on the phone. Kurt told him I said I was leaving him on the day of the accident and I told him about us," the brunette explained. "I've just listened to the message again and it all fits. I'm still a bit confused about the night before being so perfect though."

A.J gave her a wide smile, "I'm not. That night … really was perfect."

"You're going to have to elaborate, A.J because I have no idea what it was like."

The dark haired man sighed, "Let's just say, the sex was great."

Karen placed her hands on her hips, "So great sex is all that matters?"

"No!" A.J made a face, shaking his head slightly, "That's not what I'm saying at all." He reached out and gentle caressed her bare arm sending a shiver down Karen's spine, "You and me … what we share is special. We don't just have sex … we make love. There's a big difference and I don't care if I sound like a complete woman right now but it's true. I love you more than anything else."

"More than wrestling?"

"Oh hell yeah. I would never step foot in a wrestling ring again if it meant you got your memory back."

"You really mean that don't you?"

"Yeah … I do."

Karen blinked back tears that appeared out of nowhere, "Oh A.J."

A.J stepped forward and pulled the brunette into a hug, stroking her hair gently as she sniffled into his chest, "Don't cry … okay. Everything's gonna be okay. It might take some time but we'll get through this … I promise."

A.J's kind words didn't nothing to stop Karen's tears from forming, if anything, the fact he was being so loving was making her worse, "Thanks Allen." Without thinking Karen pushed back a little from A.J's chest she looked up into his eyes before she knew what was happening she was kissing him on the lips and he was kissing her back. Her common sense kicked in seconds later and she broke the kiss, "Oh my god, A.J I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."

A.J placed his index finger close to her mouth, "Shh, it's okay. You don't have to explain. You just got caught up in the moment." He gave her a half smile, "It's not the first time it's happened and I'm sure it won't be the last."

"It's not?"

"No, maybe nine months ago, it was happening all the time. I'd kiss you and regret … regret isn't the right word but we knew it was wrong. Then maybe a couple of days later, you'd kiss me and …"

"Regret it?"

"Yeah, like I said before it got real hard. At one point we tried to stay away from each other completely but that was ridiculous and it only made things worse."

"Is this when I slapped you?" Karen asked.

"This was a little bit before then. We were both in denial but we went out of our way to annoy each other. This one time and to this day I don't know what you were thinking but you starting flirting with Kurt so much to make me jealous. And I tried to pretend I was cool but inside I was going fricken crazy."

Karen cast him a guilty glance unsure of what she should say to him.

"I haven't even told you the worst part yet."

The brunette cringed, "What's the worst part?"

"First I should tell you that I don't drink alcohol at all. For one I don't like the taste and secondly it makes me sick as a dog but once particular time I was so riled up from you flirting with Kurt that I started drinking … shots, beer anything I could get my hands on." A.J paused for a moment, "Pretty stupid thing to do but like I said, I was going fricken crazy. It didn't take long for me to get totally wasted and then I did something I still regret to this day."

Worry washed over Karen's pretty face, "What did you do?"

"I kissed Christy Hemme or should I say I stuck my tongue down Christy Hemme's throat … I don't know who was more jealous, you or Kurt. If looks could kill I'd be a dead man. The next day I was so sick, I just wanted to die until around four in the afternoon when you showed up at my place and we didn't argue … in fact we didn't say a word we just lay on my bed looking at each other and that was the moment I knew."

"Knew what?"

"That I'd never love anybody else the way I love you." He stroked her cheek gently, "Everything's gonna be okay … I promise."

Karen's stomach flip flopped, "I hope you're right A.J. I really do."


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing.**

**Hi, please don't kill me, lol.**

Chapter 14

The journey to Universal had been interesting to say the least for Karen. She couldn't remember laughing so much for years. So much so that the brunette's cheeks and stomach were aching slightly. Karen had mentally added A.J being hilarious to the list of things she liked about the TNA wrestler. The two had parted company outside the ladies restroom where Karen was now inside one of the cubicles. She was about to open the door when she heard the main bathroom door open so fast it slammed against the wall. Deciding it would be better to stay put for a moment, Karen did just that.

"So what you're basically saying is things are over? Is that what you're saying?" Christy Hemme yelled into her cell phone.

Karen cringed as the redheaded Knockouts voice grew louder and louder, 'That can't be Kurt can it?' she thought to herself.

"I don't understand what I did wrong … You're going back to her aren't you? That's what this is all about? Karen?"

Karen frowned, it was definitely Kurt on the other end of the phone and from the sound of things he was ending it with Christy. Karen just wanted to know one thing … why?

"She doesn't even love you anymore, you do know that right?" Christy whined.

The brunette made a face, that wasn't true. She stilled loved Kurt deeply or at least she thought she did. Evidence that was in fact now in love with A.J Styles seemed to be popping up all over the place and even if Karen wanted to ignore that she knew deep down that she couldn't. She could hear the other woman sniffling obviously Kurt had just broken her heart. Karen almost felt sorry for her … almost but not quite.

Christy hung up the phone and left the restroom soon after. Karen opened the door and walked towards the sinks. She'd just finished washing her hands when her cell phone rang in her pocket. She wiped her hands quickly and glanced down at the caller id … it was Kurt. "Hello?"

"Hey Karen … how's it going?" Kurt asked cheerily.

"It's going okay. I'm just at Universal for the tapings," Karen replied.

"That's great. Are you having fun?"

Karen couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, "Yeah, I guess. I only just got here though."

"That's cool … the reason why I'm calling … I was wondering … well more like hoping that you'd consider flying out here tomorrow."

"What?"

"I know things haven't been great between since you had the accident but I want to fix that."

"Kurt I don't understand, I thought you were too busy with the movie for me to be there."

"I've been thinking on the plane over here. We've been married for over ten years. Ten years is a long time just to throw away. And before you say it I know you know about you and A.J," Kurt explained.

"Yeah … I know about you and Christy too."

"I had a feeling you might. I've just called Christy and ended it. I wanted to give us another shot. What do you say?"

Karen was silent for a moment. Her brain was desperately trying to process all the things Kurt was saying, "I don't know Kurt … I really wasn't expecting this at all."

"I know, shocked the hell out of me too. But if there's a tiny chance to save our marriage don't you think it's worth a shot?"

"Well when you put it that way I guess so."

"Then say you'll come? Tomorrow … for us?"

"Okay Kurt, I'm come for us."

"You have no idea how happy you've just made me. I do love you. You know that right?"

"Yes Kurt. I know you love me and I love you too."

"Then that's settled. I'll book your plane ticket in a second and I'll email you the confirmation. I can't wait to see you."

"Me either. Bye Kurt."

"Bye, I'll be seeing you."

Karen hung up the phone in shock. What had she just agreed to? And what the hell was she going to say to A.J? "Oh shit!"

The brunette was still rooted to the spot some five minutes later when Gail Kim walked into the restroom. Gail seemed to notice Karen was troubled straight away, "Karen? What's wrong?"

"Just about everything. Kurt's just called me. He wants me to fly to Hollywood tomorrow to meet up with him."

Gail gasped, "Does A.J know about this?"

Karen shook her head, "Nope, I only found out about it five minutes ago. I have no idea what I'm going to tell him. It's going to break his heart."

The former TNA Knockout Champion frowned, "I think that's in the running for understatement of the century. I thought you and Kurt were over."

"So did I and then suddenly I got this phone call and Kurt was being so sweet, like he was years ago. A.J is a really nice guy but I just don't remember being in love with him," Karen explained. "What am I going to do?"

Gail shrugged, "Beats me but one thing I do know … wait until the tapings are over until you tell him."

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea."

Karen had successfully managed to avoid A.J for most of the afternoon and nearly all of the evening because he'd been busy filming various segments for the show but now that they were back at his apartment she couldn't put off telling him any longer. They were stood in the kitchen area, deciding what they were going to do next.

"Are you okay? You've been really quiet," A.J asked with concern.

"I'm okay A.J honestly. Something happened this afternoon …"

"What? Did you remember something?"

"No, Kurt called me," Karen replied.

"He wasn't mean to you was he because if he upset you I'll …"

"No!" Karen stepped closer to the dark haired man, "He was being really sweet actually. He wants me to …"

"Wants you to what?"

"He wants me to fly out there tomorrow," Karen said quickly.

A.J screwed up his face, "I don't understand. Why?"

"So we can try and make a go of things."

"But you didn't say yes though did you?" A distraught look came over A.J's features, "Please tell me you didn't say yes."

"I'm sorry A.J but I had to say yes."

"But he doesn't even love you," A.J yelled out, "And you don't love him."

"A.J, you're wrong. Maybe before the accident I didn't love him but right now, with five missing years of memory, I do love him. He's my husband and if there's the slightest chance of saving the marriage I really think we should try."

"Bull shit! This is total bull shit!" A.J fumed.

Karen was taken aback, in the past few days she'd only heard him swear once, "I know how you feel and I'm …"

"You obviously have no idea how I feel or you wouldn't be doing this to me. How can you do this to me?"

"A.J, please calm down. I'm just going to try to see if we can work things out with Kurt."

"Oh that's just great!" A.J's southern accident was getting strong the more upset he was becoming, "And what am I supposed to do in the meantime, stay here and hope that you don't?"

"No, that's not what I want. I want everybody to be happy and that includes you."

"You've got a funny way of showing it. Do you want me to beg? Because I will. Please don't go back to him."

Tears pricked the brunette's eyes, "Please stop A.J."

A.J was silent for a moment, "Fine if that's the way you want it, fine by me. I want you out of my apartment and out of my life. When you and your," A.J paused to make air quotes with his fingers, "loving husband get back from Hollywood I don't want you anywhere near me. I'll talk to Jeff and get them to change the storyline and if they won't I'm gonna quit."

"A.J you can't quit,"

A.J stuck his finger right up close to Karen's face, "You have no right to come here and trample on my heart and then expect to tell me what to do, okay? Just get your stuff and stay the hell away from me."

Karen reached for his arm but the dark haired man shrugged her off, "Don't touch me. Now get your things and get out of here."

"Allen …"

"Don't you dare Allen me. The door is that way but before you go just answer me one thing? How long do you think it's gonna be before he's screwing Christy Hemme behind your back again? Because from where I'm standing it's not going too be long."

Something inside Karen snapped and she slapped A.J hard on the cheek but as soon as she made contact with his skin she regretted it. "A.J I'm sorry."

A.J rubbed his red cheek, "Just go … get out … and don't come back, ever!"

Tears were rolling down the brunette's face as she ran out of the apartment. Things had gone worse than she had expected. A.J had been even more upset than she'd bargained for. Somewhere in the back for her mind, a tiny voice was telling her she'd just made the biggest mistake of her life and she only prayed that the voice was wrong. As Karen made her way to the elevator she pulled out her cell phone to call Jay. She only hoped he would understand better than A.J what she had done.


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Still not owning over here.

Chapter 15

Karen Hotel Room, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, May 23, 2008

It had been three days since she had told A.J she was going to try and work things out with Kurt. The brunette had tried to call him on several occasions and the only time he'd actually answered she'd gotten exactly three words out of him before he'd hung up on her. 'Stop calling me,' were not the words Karen was hoping to hear. After not getting an answer yet again, Karen had decided to call Jay instead. The Canadian had been a little more understanding than A.J but a lot less than she had been expecting. As she searched her phonebook and pressed the green button when his name appeared, she was starting to believe she really had made the wrong decision coming to Hollywood.

After a couple of ring, Jay picked up the phone, "Hey, Special K … How's it going?"

"Jay? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"Okay … I guess. I was just calling to see how A.J was. I've tried calling him but he won't answer me."

"Can you blame him?" Jay asked.

"No, not really."

"Well that's something we agree on. That said, do you want the painful truth version or the sugar coated version?"

Karen winced, "What's the difference?"

"Basically, I swear more in the painful truth version … he's fucking shit. I've never seen him his bad before."

"I didn't mean to hurt him like that."

"I know and I'm sure deep down he knows that. I just wouldn't expect him to forgive you anytime soon though."

"I don't."

"How are things going with you and Kurt?" the blond man asked causally.

"Okay, I guess … not as good as I'd hoped. When I got here, Kurt was busy shooting and I've really not seen that much of him. I don't know why I expected things to be different."

"I'm sure you'll be able to work something out. I'm sorry to cut this short but I gotta go."

"Okay, I'll talk to you again soon."

"You can count on. Good luck with Kurt. Bye."

"Thanks Jay … I'm gonna need it, bye." Karen hung up the phone, not really feeling any better for having spoken to Jay about A.J.

Jay Reso's House, Tampa, Florida, May 23, 2008

"So what did Karen want?" A.J asked.

Jay frowned, "How did you know that was Karen?"

"So obvious … for one you don't usually dart out of the room when your cell rings, two, I have a missed call from her on mine." He held up his cell phone, "Is she okay?"

The Canadian sat down on the couch next to A.J, "Not really, she's pretty cut up by the fact that you won't talk to her."

"Boo hoo!" A.J said sarcastically, "My heart bleeds for her."

Deciding it was probably better to end the conversation, Jay picked up the Xbox controller he'd put down a few minutes ago, "Now where were we?"

"I was kicking your ass!"

"In your dreams, Styles."

"No, I'm my dreams Karen would be here with us not across the other side of the country with him."

Jay shook his head, "I'm sorry dude. I wish there was something I could do."

"I just gotta hope she comes to her senses or remembers something. I told her I didn't want to see her again ever. Of course I didn't mean that but she doesn't have to know that."

"I know. You were angry and understandably so. And just for the record I don't think things are going well with Kurt either."

"Shocker, that jerk isn't even in love with her anymore. He told me so himself. I tried to warn her but she wouldn't listen. Right enough about that before I get even more depressed. Are we playing or what?"

"We're playing," Jay replied, hitting the start button on the controller.

Kurt Angle's Hotel Room, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, May 30, 2008

It had been another seven days since Karen had spoken to Jay. Last night had been the first night that Karen had actually stayed over in Kurt's hotel room. Kurt had wanted them to have sex but hadn't even got as far as taking her shirt off before Karen had hit the breaks and admitted that she wasn't ready to sleep with him again. She had blamed the amnesia but Karen was beginning to realise that was just an excuse. The real reason was back home in Tampa. The real reason had a name … that name was Allen Jones. Despite the fact that her memory had not returned, the brunette found herself thinking about A.J more and more. She had decided she had to find a way to make it up to him … She just wasn't sure what that was yet.

Kurt had been in the bathroom for the past ten minutes, Karen was convinced he was sulking so she decided to go and talk to him. She got out of bed and walked towards the door as she arrived outside she could hear Kurt talking to someone on the phone. Curiosity got the better of her and she leaned up to the door so she could listen.

"I'm telling you baby it worked like a charm. Karen fell for the nice nice act, hook, line and sinker. That must have been a hell of a performance you put on in the ladies bathroom."

Karen gasped, that must be Christy on the phone.

"Yeah, I wish we didn't have to sink to this level either but somebody needs to teach her a lesson and when this whole mess comes out, you and me are gonna be in the clear. After all, I took her back after she cheated on me with A.J."

"Oh my god," Karen whispered. Kurt had set up her and by the sounds of it, Christy had helped him. "How could I have been so stupid?" She'd betrayed Kurt with A.J. Did she really think he was just going to let her get away with it? He'd pulled this stunt to make sure he ruined things between her and A.J and Karen had just gone along with it. Karen could hear Kurt ending the call by telling Christy he loved her. It made the brunette feel sick to her stomach. Not wanting to let Kurt catch her by the door, Karen ran back to the bed and slid inside the covers.

Seconds later Kurt appeared, he had a smug look on his face as he walked towards Karen. He seemed to notice that she didn't look happy, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong … in fact everything is perfect. I just got my memory back," Karen lied.

Kurt's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "What? When did this happen?"

"Just now … One minute nothing and then the next thing bam, everything just came flooding back. And do you know what the first thing I remember was?"

"No … what was it?"

"That I'm married to the most lying, cheating bastard on the planet."

"Karen, you can't mean that."

Karen placed her hands on her hips, "Oh but I do. The day of the accident, I told you I wanted a divorce … conveniently forgot to mention that didn't you?"

Kurt held up his hands in defence, "It wasn't like that … I thought we could give it another go."

"Like hell you did," Karen snapped, "I bet you never ended things with Christy either. Do you?"

"Of course I did."

"Don't lie to me, Kurt. It's pretty obvious that you set this whole thing up to ruin my relationship with A.J. Well congratulations, you got what you wanted but it's not 

going to last long. A.J will forgive me and then this whole thing would have been for nothing."

Kurt snorted, "Oh please, like A.J's going to forgive you after you trampled on his heart the way you did. Even he's not that stupid."

"A.J's not stupid and we love each other!" Karen yelled. "He will forgive me."

"I really don't care what he does, I just wanted payback."

"You son of a bitch! As soon as I get home I'm filing for a divorce."

Kurt nodded, "Good, saves me the trouble." He smirked at her.

Karen wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug look off her husband's face but now wasn't the time. Now she had to get out of here and back to her own room. She had a flight to arrange and lots of bridges to mend. She only hoped that A.J would forgive her.

Jay Reso's house, Tampa, Florida, June 01, 2008

Karen rang Jay's door bell and waited for the blond man to appear. She didn't have to wait long. Wearing dark blue jeans and a yellow tee shirt, jay answered the door.

"Karen? What are you doing here? I thought you were in LA."

"Long story … can I come in?"

"Sure." Jay side stepped, allowing her access to his home. "I was just out by the pool. Gail's not here." The two walked down the hallway into the main living room before going through the glass door into the pool area.

"That doesn't matter it's you I really need to talk to. You are not going to believe what's happened," Karen admitted.

They reached the seating area by the swimming pool and sat down, "You got your memory back?"

"No, but Kurt thinks I did. That's why I need your help."

The Canadian scratched his head, "You've lost me."

"Kurt didn't want us to patch things up. He set me up."

Jay made a face, "What?"

"He set me up so he could get revenge on me and A.J. And I like a fool fell for it."

"Son of a bitch!"

"Exactly, I can't believe I was so stupid and I can't believe what I did to A.J. How is he?"

"Not good, he's still taking things pretty hard. When you last called me, he was over here."

Karen frowned, "Why didn't you say something?"

"I thought it was for the best. It's not like he would have talked to you. But anyway, you're killing me here … Why does Kurt think you have your memory back?"

"Because I told him I had after I heard him plotting with Christy on the phone. It was the only thing I could think of without letting him know that I'd heard him. Pretty stupid I know but I've been doing a lot of stupid things just lately," Karen replied.

"So you haven't got your memory back?"

"No!"

"Okay … okay," Jay held his hands up in defence, "I was only asking."

"Sorry for snapping at you. Do you think A.J would hear me out if I went over there to explain?"

"Not today, he wouldn't. He's out of town."

"He is?"

"Yeah, he'll be back tomorrow though. I'm throwing him a bit of a birthday bash. He's dead set against it but I didn't want him wallowing on his 30th." The blond man said.

Karen sighed heavily, "He hates me doesn't he? And who could blame him."

"He doesn't hate you … he loves you but you broke his heart so I wouldn't expect forgiveness any time soon. Forgiveness really isn't his strong point … And I'm not helping am I?"

Karen shook her head, "No, but I've got nobody else to blame but myself and my slime ball husband."

"Don't worry, Karen. We'll figure something out," Jay reassured his friend.

"I hope you're right Jay."

"I'm always right."

Karen gave him a sad smile, since she'd found out about Kurt's plan on Friday, her only thought had been to get back to A.J. She wasn't even sure why it was so important to her to make things right between them but she just knew it was. And whatever it took, Karen was determined to make it happen.


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.**

Chapter 16

Jay Reso's House, Tampa, Florida, June 02, 2008

It had taken Jay and Karen a large portion of the previous afternoon to come up with any sort of plan with regards to A.J. Now she stood outside Jay's house waiting for an answer.

"Oh finally, I've been trying to call you for hours."

Karen screwed up her pretty face, "Isn't this the time we agreed?" She glanced down at her watch, it read 11.30. She pulled out her cell phone, noting that the battery was dead.

"Yeah but A.J's not here."

"He no showed his own party?"

"Oh no, he came all right. He was the most miserable birthday boy ever and I hate to say this but everyone was pretty pleased about that fact he went home after just an hour."

Karen sighed heavily, "Oh that's terrible. This is all my fault."

"Do you want to come in?"

The brunette shook her head, "I'm going over to his place. He probably won't even let me in but it's worth a shot."

"Do you need a ride? I mean I can't take you because I've been drinking but I can call you a cab."

"Thanks for the offer but I have a rental. I better go, I'll call you tomorrow with an update," Karen replied. She started to walk back towards the street.

"Drive safely," Jay called out to her retreating form.

"I will," Karen shouted back as she opened the driver's side door. It had taken Karen fifteen minutes to reach A.J's apartment. She was now standing outside his front door, silently praying that he would at least hear her out long enough for her to explain what had happened. She took a deep breath she raised her fist and knocked loudly on the door. After receiving no reply she decided to ring the bell.

About thirty seconds later, the door opened relieving a shirtless A.J. He took one look at the brunette and went to close the door again. Fearing that he wouldn't answer the door again, Karen jammed her foot in the door, "A.J please hear me out."

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say, just go."

"No, not until you listen to what I have to tell you … please."

A.J sighed heavily and reopened the door fully, "You've got two minutes."

"Thank you."

"Oh don't thank me just yet." The dark haired man folded his arms over his chest, "One minute fifty seconds."

"A.J I came here to tell you that Kurt set me up. He and Christy had this big plan to get revenge on us. Can I come in?"

"No," A.J replied coldly, "But go on … I'm listening."

"Yeah so, Kurt set me up to go out to Hollywood to drive a wedge between us. I'm so sorry I hurt you A.J."

"That it? You done now?"

"Well no, I also wanted to give you your birthday present," the brunette admitted.

A.J's stony expression was quickly replaced by a smirky smile, "You got me a birthday present?"

Karen was a little taken a back by the sudden change in his demeanour, "Yes … I got it for you before the accident."

"What it is? No, wait don't tell me … It's a new heart to replace the one you ripped out and trampled on," A.J said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I deserved that but please I hope you can accept the gift, I really want to you have it." She picked up a small red gift bag from by her feet. "Please read the email first and I'm sorry I had to lie to you about who it was really for but it was a surprise."

A.J reluctantly took the bag from her and pulled out a folded piece of white paper. He opened it slowly and read the email printed from Karen to The Specialist Watch Company detailing when she needed the watch for. A.J raised an eyebrow and looked up at Karen, "The watch was for me?"

"Yes, that's why it fitted your wrist. I must have had it adjusted."

A.J gave her a short nod, "Cool … Thanks. Was that all you wanted because your time is up."

Karen's jaw dropped, "Is that all you have to say?"

A.J thought for a moment, "Pretty much yeah. Thanks for coming. I guess I'll see you on Sunday for the PPV." He shut the door this time before Karen could stop him.

"Happy Birthday, A.J," Karen said sadly to the closed door. Tears rolled down the Knockout's face. She was about to leave when she realised that she hadn't told A.J about lying to Kurt. It was a long shot that A.J would actually answer the door again but she decided to give it a go, after all she had nothing to lose. She raised a shaky hand and pressed the door bell once more.

To her surprise the door did reopen to reveal A.J again. He was now wearing the watch she'd just given him, "Yes?"

"I … I forgot to tell you something and it's important," Karen told him.

A.J frowned after studying her face for a moment, "What ya crying for?"

"Doesn't matter. I just wanted to …"

A.J shook his head and muttered something that Karen couldn't quite hear, "Hold on a second." He closed the door and then reopened it about a minute later, "Here, wipe your face." He handed her a tissue.

His sudden act of kindness only served to make the tears roll down Karen's face even faster. "Thank you."

The dark haired man sighed heavily, "I'm probably going to regret this but you better come in." He opened the door fully, allowing her access to his home.

Karen gratefully accepted his invitation and walked inside, desperately trying to wipe the tears from her face as she entered the living room area. She sat down on the couch, when A.J didn't do the same she looked up at him, "Please sit."

"I'd rather stand," A.J replied stubbornly.

Karen resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I lied to Kurt and told him that I got my memory back."

"But you didn't, right?"

"No, I overheard him talking to Christy on his cell phone. He was basically gloating about what an idiot I was for falling for his nice nice act. When he came out of the bathroom I told him I'd remembered that I was getting a divorce for him."

A.J made a face, "But why?"

"Because I was so mad at myself for falling for his bull shit, nice act and most importantly I was mad at myself for hurting you. This past two weeks without you have been hard for me … I think I'm falling in love with you."

A.J placed his hands on his hips, "What?"

"I said I think I'm falling in love with you," Karen repeated. It probably wasn't a good time for her to be confessing her feelings to A.J right now but Karen didn't know what else to do.

"Oh that's just great … Here I am trying my best to stay mad at you, which isn't easy by the way and then you announce that you think you love me." A.J placed his head in his hands, "Oh, nuts. Why did you have to say that?"

"Because it's the truth. When I was in LA, Kurt wanted us to sleep together and …"

A.J raised his hand, "Please I couldn't handle hearing details of you having sex with him."

"That's just it, we didn't have sex."

"Why not?" A.J asked.

"Because of you," Karen explained. "The longer we were apart the stronger the feelings got. I told Kurt I want a divorce. I know I hurt you so much and I don't expect you to forgive me but I hope one day we can be friends again."

A.J sat down next to her on the couch, "I just can't see that happening."

"Why not?"

"Because you and me will never be just friends. We don't work as friends."

Karen frowned, "Can't we at least try?"

A.J let out a bitter laugh, "Yeah, cause that worked out so well last time."

"I don't remember that but I'm not the same person anymore. I broke your heart and I'll always be sorry for that. I may not remember our past but I don't want to lose you from my life."

"You aren't going to lose me," A.J whispered. "I know what I said but I was mad as hell. I've missed you so much. I just don't think I'm ready for us to do whatever we need to do to move on."

"I understand that, A.J, really I do. I'm probably not ready either. I do know that I'll do anything to try and make it up to you."

A.J gave her a small nod, "Then it's agreed, we'll take things slowly and see how the friends thing works out. And just for the record, I'm still mad at you."

Fresh tears rolled down the brunette's face but she managed to give him a small smile, "I know."

"Right, now that we have that sorted. What are we going to do about the Kurt situation? I'm so pissed at him right now."

"You aren't the only one. I do know he thinks you're never going to forgive me."

A.J smiled suddenly, "Then we'll just have to prove him wrong. As far as Kurt goes, you and me are back on. When we're around him we can make out like we're together … I mean if you want to."

Karen nodded, "Sounds like a plan. I should probably be going."

"Uh huh," A.J said quietly. "Maybe we could meet up tomorrow to discuss what we're going to do?"

"I'd like that. Is there any chance that I could use your bathroom before I leave? I must look a mess."

"Sure, go right ahead."

Karen got up from the couch and headed towards the bathroom. As she reached A.J's bedroom she couldn't stop herself from peeking in. The picture that had been on the nightstand by the bed was missing. After checking to make sure A.J wasn't behind her, the brunette ventured further into the room to check if the other pictures were in the room. All of them were gone. Karen backed out of the room and went into the bathroom. She turned on the tap and splashed some cold water on her face. Although things with A.J were far from being sorted out, at least she had made a start.


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I'm still owning nothing.**

**Author's Note: For the sake of the storyline, Kurt isn't going on the UK tour. From this point on, I may tweak the actual on screen A.J/Karen storyline from what TNA actually show. Not too sure yet. Thanks for all the reviews. Please R & R.  
**

Chapter 17

It had taken Karen nearly two hours to get ready for her lunch date. After trying on half a dozen different outfits, the brunette had settled for a three quarter sleeve cream and black striped v neck sweater and a pair of black skinny fit jeans. She had finished the look of with a pair of black high heeled boots which Karen had found in her shoe closet. Even though she was trying not to make a big deal about it, the TNA Knockout couldn't help spending extra time applying her make up and curling her hair. Karen took a look at herself in the full length mirror in her dressing room and frowned, there was something missing. She walked over to her jewellery box, opened it and scanned the contents. After a moment she picked up a square shaped velvet box. Unsure of what it was she pulled off the lid, inside was a solid gold bracelet and a gold chain necklace with a diamond encrusted K attached to it. "Perfect," Karen said, placing the chain around her neck. She slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and closed the box. She checked her watch and noted that it was fast approaching 12 pm. A.J would be picking her up at any minute. After grabbing her cell phone and purse from the bed, Karen made her way downstairs to wait for the TNA wrestler.

As it turned out she didn't have to wait long as no sooner was she down the stairs her door bell was ringing. Karen opened the door to reveal A.J. He was dressed in dark blue jeans, a white, tight fitting tee shirt and sunglasses. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, just need to lock up," Karen replied.

"You look nice," A.J said as he started to head down the driveway back towards his truck that was parked at the bottom.

"Thanks … so do you." She locked the front door and followed A.J.

Allen had stopped outside the passenger door and waited for the brunette to catch up. He opened the door for her to get in. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Once Karen was seated, he closed the door and walked around to the driver's side and got in.

"So … how are you today?"

"Pretty tired, I didn't sleep much last night," A.J admitted as he started his truck. "I had a lot on my mind."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Karen asked.

"I was hoping we could talk about it over lunch … I suddenly remembered something just as I was about to go to sleep and I couldn't stop thinking about it. You know what that's like, right?"

Karen nodded, "Uh huh."

"After that I tossed and turned all night. Drove me frigging crazy. So if I'm a little grouchy, you know why."

"Gotcha."

The two drifted into a comfortable silence when A.J put the radio on. This journey was a lot different to the last one they had made on the way to the TNA tapings two weeks earlier. On that occasion, Karen had laughed so much her cheeks had hurt with A.J singing along to the radio badly. But that was all before Kurt and Christy had pulled their stunt.

After around fifteen minutes, A.J pulled up at the Outback Steakhouse on North 56th street car park. Wordlessly, he got out and was around the other side of the truck to open the door for Karen within seconds

Karen smiled as she got out of the truck, "Thanks A.J, you're such a gentleman."

"You can thank my mom for that. Are you ready to go inside?" he asked.

"Yeah," the brunette replied. "Lead the way."

"Oh no, ladies first." A.J gestured with his hand for her to walk ahead.

With a small nod, Karen did so. As the approached the door, A.J stepped in front of her and opened it. For a brief second Karen thought about Kurt, the days where he used to open doors for her were long gone.

"I have a reservation for two under the name of Jones," A.J told the server who was standing just inside the door after they had entered the steakhouse.

The woman ticked off the name and picked up a couple of menus, "Right this way, Sir."

The two followed the server over to a nearby table. A.J pulled Karen's chair out for her before seating himself in the chair opposite.

"Can I get you some drinks while you look over the menu?"

"Yes, please. I'll have a diet coke and the lady will have …"

"Diet coke, please."

"Diet coke," A.J repeated, "Thank you."

The server nodded, "Two diet cokes, coming right up."

Karen started to look over the menu. There were so many choices she wasn't sure what she should pick. She glanced up to take a sneaky peak at A.J and was surprised to find him looking right at her. "Are you not having anything?"

A.J laughed, "Of course I am, I'm starving. I just already know what I want. Every time we come here, I have the same thing."

"Oh okay." She looked down at the menu again, "I can't decide what to have."

A.J laughed again, "You can never decide but it will be interesting to see what you choose today."

Karen was still hadn't decided when the server returned with their drinks, "I really can't decide. I think I'll have the …"

"Chicken on the Barbie," A.J finished for her.

"How did you know I was going to say that?"

"I'll tell you in a second." A.J turned his attention to the server, "And I'll have the 9 oz Atlantic Salmon without the seasoning."

"Do you want any other sides?" the server asked.

"Not for me," A.J said quickly.

"Me either, thanks."

"Okay, so that's one Chicken on the Barbie and a 9 oz Atlantic Salmon. Coming right up."

"Thank you," A.J replied as the server walked away.

"So tell me, how did you know I was going to pick that? I only just saw it at the last minute."

"I know you. We've spent so much time together, this last eight months …" A.J trailed off."

The TNA Knockout frowned, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, I just noticed you were wearing your K necklace," A.J informed her. "I really like that."

"Yeah, me too. I found it with the rest of my jewellery and had to wear it. It's so pretty."

A.J glanced down at the table for a moment and then back at Karen, "I bought that for you."

"You did?"

"Yeah, it was for our six month anniversary. There's a bracelet that goes with it too."

Karen held up her wrist to show him she was wearing that too, "I thought you took me to Paris for our anniversary?"

"I did but I got you that too. You were so mad at me when I gave them to you."

Karen couldn't think of a single reason why she would be mad at him for giving her such beautiful presents, "Why?"

"Because we'd already agreed no presents but I just saw that in the jewellery store window, thought of you and next thing you know, I'm inside buying it."

Karen's heart skipped a beat, "Oh my gosh!"

"Apart from when we were in Paris I don't think you've worn it for obvious reasons."

"Right," Karen said, realising A.J meant that Kurt would see it. "So, you said we agreed no presents. Did I get you anything?"

"No, that's why you were so mad at me. We kinda had a semi big argument in the middle of Paris. You were going on and on and on. All these French people were looking at us so I did thing only thing I could think of to shut up you." A.J grinned at her.

"What was that?"

"I kissed you. When we broke apart, people were going crazy cheering. It was kind of embarrassing really."

Karen sighed, "I wish I could remember that."

"You will, it's just going to take some time. So yeah, that's the story of your K necklace."

Karen took a sip of her drink, "Do you want to talk about what kept you awake last night now or when the food arrives?"

Allen shrugged, "Now I guess. No time like the present and all that. It was kind of about you …Yeah big shocker there," A.J said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. "I really can't believe I forgot about this but TNA are doing a four day tour of England after next week's tapings. Kurt was supposed to be going before they did this injury angle with him. Jeff thought it would be a good idea if you came on the tour instead. You know to help the storyline?"

"Right, I guess so."

"Anyways, when we found out about it, we planned to stay on for a few days in London before we fly home. Everything is booked and paid for I just wasn't sure if it would be a good idea anymore."

The TNA Knockout frowned, "Don't you want to go to London anymore?"

"It's not that, most of the places where we are staying have one queen bed and that's it. And I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable with that or not?"

Karen gave him a small smile, "I'm sure we could work something out. I mean we're both adults …"

"And I wasn't sure if I'd be comfortable with that," A.J added before Karen could finish what she was going to say.

The brunette's heart sank, "Oh … of course. Maybe we should cancel the trip. I can talk to Jeff about not going. I'm sure he'll understand with the amnesia and stuff." Cancelling the trip was the last thing that Karen wanted to do but it seemed A.J wasn't happy about it so what else could she do?


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.**

**Author's Note: Not too sure where this came from but I started typing earlier and this is what came out. Enjoy :)**

Chapter 18

Outback Steakhouse, Tampa, Florida, June 03, 2008

It hadn't taken long for their food to arrive although after A.J had basically told her he didn't want to her to go on the overseas tour anymore, Karen had more or less lost her appetite. She was currently playing with her chicken, pushing it around her plate.

A.J, who was having no such trouble, frowned when he noticed she wasn't really eating, "Aren't you hungry?"

"Lost my appetite," Karen replied coolly.

A.J frowned again, "I can see that … but why?"

"Might something to do with you not wanting me to come on the tour."

Allen put down his folk, "Now wait just a minute. I never said I didn't want you to come on the tour. I just said I didn't know if I would be comfortable sharing a bed with you … Big difference."

Karen rolled her eyes, "Not really."

"Now you're being ridiculous. I thought you wanted us to be friends? Friends don't go away together and sleep in the same bed," A.J reasoned.

Karen stopped playing with her food, "You know what A.J you were right in the first place. We can't be friends, it's just not going to work."

"You're overreacting. Try to calm down okay?"

"I am calm. I am very calm," Karen said evenly. "I think I should go."

Allen sighed heavily, "I don't think running away is going to solve anything. We should talk about this."

"It's still gonna amount to the same thing. You don't want me anymore."

"That's crazy talk."

The brunette made a face, "Is it A.J? Is it really because from where I'm sitting it makes perfect sense."

"I love you, Karen."

"You just don't want to be with me," Karen said sadly.

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to, it's written all over your face." Karen rose quickly and opened her purse. She pulled out a twenty from her wallet and placed it on the table. "That should cover my half of the bill. I'm sorry A.J. This was clearly a mistake." She started to walk away.

"Karen …" A.J called out to her retreating form, "Don't go," he whispered. "Oh crap!"

It wasn't until Karen had gotten outside that she realised she didn't have a way to get home. She didn't want to have to ask A.J for a ride, she really couldn't face that. She decided she would stay out of sight until A.J had left and then she would call a cab from inside. She moved around the corner of the building so she couldn't be seen from the door. She waited … and waited for A.J to appear. Minutes ticked by and there was still no sign of the TNA wrestler. "Surely he can't still be eating?"

Karen peaked around the corner to get a better look at the door. A.J was nowhere to be seen. His truck hadn't moved so he was still inside. The brunette had half expected him to come right after her but maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part.

"Karen, what are you doing?" A.J voice came from behind her.

Karen jumped out of her skin and spun around to face him, "Oh my god, you scared me to death."

A.J gave her an amused looked, "I can see that but you didn't answer my question."

"I was waiting for you to leave so I could go back inside and call a cab. How did you get out here?"

"They let me out the back door after I explained that my girlfriend is crazy."

"I'm not crazy," Karen protested, "Wait, did you just call me your girlfriend?"

"Yes …"

"Does this mean …"

"Yes."

Karen smiled, "Yes."

"Come here."

Karen stepped forward into A.J's waiting arms. He hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry for being an ass."

"You weren't."

"Yes I was. Do you want to come back to my place and we can talk about things?"

"I'd like that."

A.J released her, "Then that's settled. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to pick you up and carry you, kicking and screaming."

"You wouldn't do that."

Allen grinned at her, "Wanna bet?" Without warning he picked her up and hosted her over his shoulder."

"A.J put me down," Karen protested.

"Nope." He started to walk back towards his truck.

"A.J …. People are staring at us," Karen informed him as he went passed a few people in the car park.

"I don't care," A.J replied. "Let them stare." He nodded politely to a man as he walked passed, "Afternoon."

Karen laughed, "A.J you're nuts."

"Only for you, Woman."

Once they reached the truck, A.J loosened his grip, allowing Karen to slip down slowly. But instead of reaching for the floor, Karen wrapped her legs around A.J's waist and her arms around his neck. Their noses were touching. "Hi."

"Hi," A.J replied.

Karen kissed A.J once on the lips, she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do but it felt right to her.

"What was that for?"

"Just because. Do I need a reason?"

"Noooo," A.J replied with a grin. "And I wouldn't complain if you did it again."

Karen kissed him again, "You mean like that?"

"Yeah, just like that." A.J slapped her butt lightly, "Come on, we should go."

Karen sighed dramatically, "I guess."

A.J opened the passenger side door on his truck and deposited her in the seat.

"Why thank you kind, sir."

"You're welcome." He walked around to the other side of the truck at got in. "Right lets go home." He started the truck and pulled away.

Karen wasn't sure what had come over her but she wasn't starting to feel a silly mood coming on. "Get a grip," she whispered to herself. Luckily A.J hadn't heard her due to the fact he'd just switched on the radio.

It had only taken ten minutes for the two to reached A.J's apartment. Once they were out of the truck, A.J had taken Karen's hand in his own as they walked, causing the brunette to smile brightly at him. Once they had closed the apartment door, A.J let go of her hand.

Karen pouted at him.

"What's the matter?"

"I was enjoying that!"

"What? Me holding your hand?"

"Yeah, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside," Karen said with a giggle.

A.J laughed, "If I didn't know any better, I swear you'd been drinking."

Karen smiled, "I don't know what's come over me but I'm feeling really giddy all of a sudden. I think it was that kiss." She covered her face with her hand, "Oh lord."

A.J laughed again.

Karen poked him gently in the chest, "Stop laughing."

"Ow!" A.J said dramatically, "What was that for?"

"Oh please, like that hurt a big, strong man like you."

A.J pulled her closer to him, "You think I'm big and strong?"

"Oh yeah …"

A.J coughed, "We should stop before this gets out of hand."

"You're right," Karen said not moving.

"Uh huh … Man, it's really hot in here. I'll just go and turn the air con on."

"Wait," the brunette instructed. "I just want us to stay here for a minute."

"Okay."

"I've really missed you, you know?"

"I've missed you too, K."

"Do you call me K a lot?" Karen asked.

"Something. Would you prefer if I call you Sexy Butt?"

Karen laughed, "Only if I can call you Snuggle Bear."

A.J shook his head, "Oh no. I knew I was going to regret telling you about that."

Karen touched his cheek gently, "You love it really."

"Honestly no, but I do love it when you touch me like that."

"Like this?" Karen touched his cheek again. "We should stop right?"

"Yeah," A.J agreed. "I'm going to switch on the air con. I'll be back."

"I'm going to the bathroom," Karen called out to his retreating form. "And take a cold shower while I'm at it," she said to herself. She wasn't really sure where this sudden attraction to A.J had come from but since their argument earlier she was having trouble keeping her hands off him. Once inside the bathroom, Karen checked her make up in the mirror. She gently traced the outline of the K on her necklace, thinking about the fact that A.J had given it to her.

As Karen walked back out of the bathroom she heard noises coming from A.J's room. She crossed the hallway and knocked on the door. Not waiting for an answer 

she opened the door to reveal A.J in just his boxers. Karen gasped, "What happened to your clothes?"

"Nothing, I was just getting changed into my shorts."

"Oh … because suddenly I'm feeling over dressed."

A.J didn't seem to get what she meant because he frowned, "Well you can always get changed too. There is a lot of stuff in your room. I mean if you're hot."

"I'm feeling very hot and very silly. Have I ever told you, you have lovely thighs?"

A.J blushed, "Maybe you should lie down for a bit."

"That didn't answer my question."

"Yeah, you may have mentioned that once or twice before," A.J admitted. "But if you don't mind, I'd rather not use this time to talk about my thighs, no matter how lovely you think they are," he said seriously.

Karen laughed, "Oh my gosh, you're too funny. So, Allen, what would you like to do instead?"

"I'm a little worried about you. I really think you should lie down. I'll go and get you some water."

"You don't have to do that, I'm fine really."

"You're not acting like yourself at all."

"I'm just exciting about us. I'm sorry if I've been coming on too strong," Karen replied.

"Don't worry, you're still okay with taking this slowly right?"

"Absolutely. I think I will go and lie down after all. If you don't mind?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Thanks," Karen turned and walked out of the room. In reality she didn't need to lie down, maybe just calm down a little until this giddiness passed. One thing Karen knew for sure, she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so happy and she hoped it wasn't going to end any time soon.


	20. Chapter 19

**Author's note: I don't think TNA had a Fan Fest for the last PPV so I'm not including one in this fic. Usual disclaimer applies. Thanks for the review. Please keep them coming.  
**

Chapter 19

Outside A.J and Karen's Hotel Room, Southaven, Mississippi, June 07, 2008

Karen was anxiously waiting for A.J to open the door, unfortunately for the brunette, the dark haired man, didn't seem to be in any rush. He'd already been up to the room once, while he'd insisted that Karen wait in the lobby. He'd told her he had a surprise for her and now that it was fast approaching 7 pm, all Karen wanted to do was go inside and found out what that surprise was.

Suddenly A.J took hold of her hand, "I want you to close your eyes and then don't open them again until I tell you, all right?"

"Okay."

"Do you promise?"

Karen laughed nervously, "I promise." She closed her eyes.

Allen popped the key card into the slot and pushed open the door. Slowly he guided Karen inside.

After what seemed like forever, he told Karen to open her eyes.

Immediately, the TNA Knockout opened her eyes. After a quick scan of the room, Karen couldn't see anything out of the ordinary just matching twin queen sized beds and a desk with a television and telephone on top of it. There were no flowers, no chocolates. Nothing remotely close to resembling the surprise A.J had spoken of. Karen looked around again, in case she'd missed something. No, there was definitely nothing here.

"Isn't it great?"

Karen frowned, turning to face him, "I don't get it. What am I looking at?"

"This." A.J pointed to the room in general.

"But there's nothing here."

"How can you say that? Don't you get it?"

Karen shook her head, "Honestly, A.J. I don't know what I'm supposed to be seeing here. All I can see is a normal hotel room."

A.J clapped his hands, "Exactly. It's just you and me in a normal hotel room."

"I hope you don't think I'm stupid but I still don't get it."

Allen led her to the first of the twin beds in the room and sat her down on the edge of it. "Maybe this will help." He bent towards and pulled off his shoes, tossing them into the corner of the room. "If you want to take your shoes off too, it might make things a little more comfortable."

"Okay." Karen removed her tennis shoes and pulled off the small black leather jacket she was wearing.

"That's better … Now lie back," A.J instructed.

Karen did as A.J requested but she was still confused. She had no idea where A.J was going with this.

A.J lay back as well, "Now close your eyes."

The brunette closed her eyes.

"Okay now open them … What do you see?"

Karen opened her eyes and looked up expecting to see something, anything but there was nothing. "I can't see anything except a plain white ceiling …" Karen frowned, "With a crack in it."

"Ignore the crack."

"A.J this is getting kind of frustrating, you're going to have to tell me what I'm supposed to be seeing."

"Everything about this room except the crack in the ceiling. I was thinking on the flight over here. I keep saying I wished there was something I could do to help you with your memory."

"That's very sweet of you but I still don't understand what that's got to do with any of this."

"But just saying it isn't enough so I thought instead, how about we create some new memories. So in a week or so, you'll be able to look back and say, hey remember that night we spent in that hotel room in Southaven, Mississippi. You know the one with the crack in the ceiling and the leaky toilet?"

"Leaky toilet?"

"I used it earlier, it leaks." A.J shrugged, "I called the front desk. They are getting maintenance to fix it."

Karen finally understood what A.J was trying to show her. "Oh my gosh, I feel so stupid."

"Don't. I'm not very good with words, I should have probably explained it better."

Karen took hold of A.J's hand again, "No, this is perfect and as far as words go, I only need three … I love you."

A.J smiled at her, "Oh you do, do you?"

"Uh huh, I love you and I love this hotel room, with it's cracked ceiling and leaky toilet."

"I love you too, Sweetheart."

Karen's heart melted, he hadn't called her Sweetheart for a few weeks and she had to admit she'd missed it. Feeling brave, the brunette rolled on top of the TNA wrestler, "Hi."

"Hi," A.J replied.

"Hey, A.J, do you remember that time when we were in that hotel room in Southaven, Mississippi?"

Allen grinned, "You mean the one with the cracked ceiling and leaky toilet?"

"That's the one. Do you remember when we laid on the bed and just made out?"

A.J frowned for a moment, "When did that happen?"

"Right about now." Karen leaned down and kissed A.J softly on the lips. Within seconds, A.J was kissing her back, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closer to him.

After several minutes A.J broke the kiss. Karen frowned slightly, "What's the matter?"

Allen grinned, "My butt is vibrating."

"Excuse me?"

"My cell is in my back pocket … Some one is calling me," he explained. He rolled to the left slightly, "Can you pull it out for me?"

"Sure." Karen pulled out the phone and looked at the caller ID. "It's Jay, can I answer it?"

"If you want to."

Karen slid the phone upwards, "Hello, you have reached the phone of the Phenomenal A.J Styles, how may I direct your call?"

"Karen?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you answering A.J's cell phone?"

"Because A.J's a little busy right now," Karen replied.

"You sound chipper. Should I be worried?" Jay asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Karen asked in mock outraged.

"Nothing I was just messing with ya. I take it things are going well?"

Karen smiled at A.J, "You could say that."

Jay's voice turned serious, "I'm really happy for you both."

"Thanks Jay. Do you want to talk to A.J? He's right here."

"Yeah, I just want to ask him a question about a game."

Karen made a face, "A video game?"

"Yeah, it's all important stuff," the Canadian explained.

"Hold on a second …" Karen rolled her eyes before handing the phone to Allen. "He wants to ask you about a video game."

A.J took the phone, "Hey dude, what's up?"

While A.J was talking to the blond haired man, Karen got up and headed towards the bathroom, deciding it was a good time to freshen up a little. The brunette decided she should change into something a little more comfortable and quickly removed the jeans and black tank top she was wearing, leaving her in just her black matching underwear. It wasn't until then that she realised, she didn't have any other clothes in the bathroom. Deciding to risk it, Karen opened the door and walked back into the main room.

A.J immediately stopped his conversation with his friend, "Whoa, gotta go, dude. Bye." He hung up the phone. He grinned widely at Karen, "Is there a clothes eating monster in there I wasn't aware of?"

Karen rolled her eyes, "No, you dork, I wanted to get changed, only I realised I left all my clothes in here. You weren't supposed to notice."

A.J's jaw dropped, "How could I not notice when the most beautiful woman I've ever seen comes into the room dressed only in some underwear?"

Karen blushed, "Well you weren't."

"Never not going to happen but anyways, what was that you said to me the other day? Oh yeah, I remember now … Suddenly I'm feeling overdressed." He got up from the bed and walked towards Karen. "Man, I scored me one hot chick and I now I have to go and take a really cold shower."

The brunette laughed, "Did you just call me a hot chick?"

"Oh …yeah. I'll be back."

"Where are you going?"

"I wasn't kidding about that shower. My pants are getting uncomfortable."

Karen was a little taken aback by his brutal honesty, "Sorry."

"Not your fault. I tell you what, how about while I'm taking my shower, you get changed and maybe we could head downstairs for some dinner?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Then it's a date. I'm sure some of the others will be downstairs but that doesn't bother you right?"

"Nope."

A.J smiled, "Good. I'll see you in a few."

"Okay, I'll be waiting." She watched him walk towards the bathroom door, "Oh and A.J? It's probably best if you take a change of clothes in there with you."

"I guess you're right. Good thinking." He double backed on himself and opened his suitcase, after a couple of minutes of routing through his stuff, he pulled out a white button downed shirt and a pair of black dress pants.

It has taken A.J about twenty minutes to shower and get changed. By the time he came out of the bathroom, Karen had changed into some black dress pants and a red sparkly tank top. She was also wearing her K necklace and matching bracelet.

Karen smiled as her boyfriend walked towards her, "You look nice."

"Thanks." A.J took hold of her hand, "You look absolutely beautiful."

"Aww, thank you A.J."

"Come on let's go."

The two left the room quickly and made the relatively short journey down to the hotel restaurant without seeing any of their friends or co-workers. Little did they know that was about to change as no sooner had they sat down did Kurt and Christy walk in.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Karen had been the first to spot her husband and his redheaded mistress walk into the restaurant. A frown instantly appearing on her pretty face. She had known that she would have to see Kurt sooner or later but she'd hoped that it would have been tomorrow rather than tonight. "Kurt and Christy have just walked in. Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"And give them the satisfaction of making us leave? I don't think so. Just ignore them and maybe they'll do the same."

"Are you kidding me? This is Kurt we are talking about. There is no way he's just going to sit over the other side of the restaurant and eat dinner like a normal person."

A.J sighed heavily, "I guess you're right. Just wishful thinking on my part."

"Unfortunately and oh no, they're coming over."

A.J made a face, "Oh shoot."

"I don't believe it," Kurt said loudly as he and Christy reached the table. "It really is true … A.J you have forgiven my wife for leaving you?"

"Evening Kurt," A.J said flatly. "Christy." He nodded to the redhead.

Karen smiled at the confused look on Kurt's face, "What's the matter Kurt?"

Kurt smiled instantly, "What could possibly be wrong with me? For the first time in years I'm finally free of you. Things could not be better."

"That's great Kurt, I'm really happy for you now was there something you wanted?" A.J asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you the great news. After Karen left my hotel room last week I called Dixie and Jeff to give them the fantastic news that she's regained her memory. They were happy, in fact they were so happy they called Vince Russo and got him to change the script for Monday's taping," Kurt explained.

"You did what?" Karen asked.

"He called Dixie and Jeff," Christy replied.

The brunette gave Christy a sarcastic smile, "Yeah, I heard that. I just want to know why?"

Kurt smirked, "I just couldn't keep the good news to myself. Anyways, they've changed the script and now you're taking a bump at the end of the show. Isn't that great?" He paused for a moment at the distressed look on his wife's face, "You do remember how to take bumps, right?"

A.J stood up, "That's enough, I've heard enough of this crap. Kurt, Karen doesn't remember anything. She still has amnesia."

Kurt frowned, "But she told me she had. Did you lie to me, Karen?"

Karen rolled her eyes, "Yes, I lied to you, Kurt."

"Big shocker!"

"I lied to you about getting my memory back but not about me and A.J. We're together now so you better get used to the idea."

Kurt shook his head slightly, "A.J, my friend. I pity you."

"I don't want your pity, Kurt. I'd just like you to leave Karen alone so we can enjoy a nice dinner."

The older man grinned again, "You got it A.J. Just one more thing before I go, do you want me to go over to Jeff and Dixie and explain that I got it wrong about Karen's memory? I'm sure they won't mind rewriting the script yet again so she doesn't have to take the bump."

A.J stood up, "Whether Karen decides to take the bump or not, that's up to Karen. All I do know is this … I have known Jeff and Dixie for a hell of a lot longer than you have. You'd do well to remember that."

"Is that a threat?"

"You can take it anyway you want to, Kurt," A.J replied calmly, "I just thought I'd mention that."

"Come on Christy," Kurt said, as he pulled the redhead away from the table.

A.J sat back down, "Jerk," he muttered under his breath.

"A.J that was awesome."

"Not really, he just really pisses me off sometimes. Why don't you look over the menu and decide what you want. I'm just going to have a word with Dixie and Jeff," the dark haired man explained.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, it's fine. I just wanna see what Kurt's actually said."

Karen nodded, as A.J got up and walked across to the far side of the restaurant where Dixie and Jeff were seated in the corner. He'd been gone just over a minute when Christy returned to the table.

"Karen, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for my part in Kurt's plan."

The brunette stood up and placed her hands on her hips, "You know what, Christy? Don't be. You and Kurt actually did me a big favour. You made me realise how much I love A.J."

Christy frowned, "Even with the amnesia?"

"Even with the amnesia."

"Everything okay over here?" a new voice asked.

Karen turned around to find the TNA Knockout Champion, Awesome Kong standing there, "Everything's fine. Christy was just leaving, weren't you, Christy?"

"Um … Yeah, I was just going back to Kurt. The redhead walked away quickly.

"A.J just asked me to come over. He wants to talk to me about something in a minute. Do you mind if I sit down?"

"No, go right ahead."

Kong sat down, "So, Karen, how are you feeling? I would have asked you earlier but you seemed like you had a lot on your mind at the last tapings."

"Physically I'm fine, it's just this amnesia that's causing me problems," Karen admitted. "I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you sooner."

"Don't sweat it, I'm sure you've got plenty to deal with but at least you've got A.J to help you."

"Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without A.J. He's been an absolute angel these past few weeks."

"He's a great guy. He really went out of his way to make me feel welcome when I joined the TNA roster."

Karen smiled, "That sounds like A.J. Speaking of A.J, here he comes."

A.J returned, "Thanks for coming over Kia."

"No problem. What's up?"

"I've just spoken to Jeff, they want Karen to take a bump from you on Monday at the tapings. I was hoping you could go over it with her until she's comfortable?"

Kong smiled, "Sure, no problem. How about we do some practice before the pay per view?"

"That would be awesome, thanks."

"Like I said, no problem. I guess I should get back to Melissa before she thinks I've abandoned her. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Thanks," Karen replied, "See you tomorrow."

A.J smiled as the larger woman rose and left the table. He sat down and frowned when he looked at Karen, "What's the matter?"

"Oh thanks for coming over Kia," Karen mocked.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. You're not jealous?"

Karen made a face, "Of course I'm not jealous, I just thought you were a bit over the top."

A.J grinned, "You're totally jealous. I don't believe this. Sweetheart, trust me when I say this, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Kia's a nice woman, she's just not my type … at all."

The brunette smiled, "So what is your type?"

"Super, hot blondes. I'm just kidding." The amused looked on A.J's face vanished, "Where is this coming from?"

"No where, I'm just not used to you being nice to anybody else. That's all."

"Are you sure that's all it is?" He took hold of her hand, "You're the only woman in my life that's important to me okay? Except my mom, of course."

"I know, I'm being ridiculous. Do you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive."

"So what did Jeff and Dixie say?" Karen asked, changing the subject.

"Well thanks to Kurt, all the TNA higher ups thought you had regained your memory. I explained that you hadn't and I'd talk to Kia about you taking the bump."

"What is the bump?"

"Headshot from Kia's fist. Nothing too bad. She's just got to hit you once and you go down and stay down. Piece of cake."

"Easy for you to say."

A.J looked at her intently, "Easy for you to pull off. You're great at taking bumps."

Karen gave him a confused look, "I am?"

"Yeah, you've taken quiet a few now. Mainly on the pay per views. Before the accident we were actually doing a bit of training together. I was teaching you a few basic wrestling moves just in case they asked you to get involved in a match."

"Me wrestling?"

"Yeah, to be honest you weren't that good to start off with but after a few weeks you started to make good progress."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, I was really impressed."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. Look I don't know about you, but I've gone off the idea of eating in here. How about we take a walk and see what other places there are to eat around this town?"

Karen smiled, "That sounds like a great idea."

"Then that's settled, let's go." The dark haired man stood up, taking hold of Karen's hand as they left the restaurant, ignoring the stares from many of their co-workers.


	22. Chapter 21

**Sorry for the delay with the latest chapter. Please R & R. Thanks.**

Chapter 21

A.J and Karen's Hotel Room, Southaven, Mississippi, June 08, 2008

Karen had awoken a few minutes earlier to find A.J's arms wrapped around her. She'd been a little surprised to wake up like that because when she'd gone to sleep, A.J was in the room's other bed. "He must have got lonely," Karen thought. A couple of minutes ticked by before Karen decided to wake him up. He looked so peaceful just lying there, she wasn't sure she should. "A.J …" she whispered softly in his ear.

A.J shifted slightly," Snuggle Bear just needs five more minutes," he muttered, obviously still fast asleep.

The brunette bite down on her lip to stop herself from laughing, "Of course you hate that name, A.J," she told his sleeping form. She waited another minute or so to see if he would stir but he seemed to still be sleeping soundly. "Oh Snuggle Bear, time to wake up." She started to trace circles slowly on his bare chest.

"Quit it," A.J mumbled, trying to swat away her hand.

This action only seemed to amuse Karen more. She managed to use her other hand too before A.J suddenly opened his eyes and without warning he rolled on top of her, lightly taking her arms to effectively pin her down, "Good morning."

"Morning," Karen said cheerfully.

A.J grinned, "Couldn't keep away, eh?"

"Excuse me?"

"You couldn't keep away from me. Did you have trouble sleeping?"

Karen shot him a confused look, "I slept fine. I thought it was you who had the problem."

A.J frowned, "I didn't have a problem. Look, if you don't want to admit that you were lonely, that's fine. I really don't mind you sharing my bed."

"That's sweet of you to say, Allen but take a look over there."

A.J turned his head, "What am I looking at?"

"This is my bed … That's your bed over there."

"Then how did I get over here because I really don't remember," A.J replied, turning his attention back to his girlfriend.

"Don't look at me. All I know is, when I went to sleep you were over there. When I woke up, Snuggle Bear was sharing my bed."

A.J grinned at her, "Stop calling me that. You know I hate it."

"Oh no you don't. You just used it yourself not five minutes ago."

"Huh?"

"I was trying to get you to wake up and you said, Snuggle Bear just needs five more minutes."

"You're making that up."

"I swear I'm not. A.J … You really said that."

A.J shook his head, "I need serious help. Oh Lord." He was just about to lean down to kiss her when suddenly their hotel room phone rang, causing them both to jump a little. "Jesus, I wonder who that is at 7 am?"

"You better answer it," Karen replied.

A.J rolled off Karen and reached for the phone, "Hello?"

"This is your 5 am wake up call," a grumpy voice replied.

A.J laughed, "It's 7 am not 5 am."

"Whatever," the grumpy voice said.

Karen shot A.J a confused look, "Who is it?"

A.J covered the mouthpiece for a moment with his hand, "It's Jay. He sounds pissed." He removed his hand again, "Was there something you wanted?"

"Just to wake you up like you did to me and half the roster earlier," Jay replied.

"Excuse me?"

"The prank calls. Don't even try to deny it, I know it was you."

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," A.J said.

"Of course you don't. It just happened to be someone else with the exact same voice as you."

"It wasn't me, dude. I've only just woken up," A.J protested. "Karen will tell you it wasn't me, we were in bed together … um, we were both asleep and somehow I ended up in her bed."

"Spare me the gory details. I'm just calling to tell you that everyone is fucking pissed at you. I gotta go. See ya later." Jay hung up the phone before A.J could reply.

A.J made a face as he put the receiver back on the cradle, "What the hell?"

"A.J, what's wrong?"

"The whole roster is pissed at me for making prank calls this morning and waking everybody up. It wasn't me."

Karen rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know that, you were fast asleep. If you'd been making prank calls I would have woken up."

"Exactly, I have no idea what's going on. This sucks."

Karen pushed back the bed covers, "You don't think Kurt has something to do with this do you? I mean, it's about his level."

"He better not have or there's gonna be trouble."

Catering, Backstage, Southaven, Mississippi, June 08, 2008

Karen followed A.J into the catering area at the arena. He'd been in a bad mood since Jay's phone call that morning. Karen had made several attempts to cheer the dark haired man up but he was having none of it. He was convinced that Kurt had set him up. The brunette bumped into the back of A.J when he stopped dead in his tracks without warning. Karen side stepped to see what had made him stop so suddenly and found nearly all of the TNA roster looking up at them. None of them looked very pleased. "Oh shit," Karen muttered to herself.

"Can I have everybody's attention?" A.J called out.

"I think we already have it," Karen commented.

A.J didn't reply to her, "I want to let everybody know that those prank phone calls you guys got this morning were not me. I don't know who made them but it wasn't me. I was asleep."

"Sure you were," was called out from the back of the room.

"I was," A.J protested.

"Yeah, caused I'd be asleep too if I was in bed with Karen …" the same voice replied again.

Laughter erupted and Karen felt herself blushing, she decided to look down at her feet to hide her embarrassment.

"Dude, what the fuck are you talking about?" James Storm shouted out. "Because I sure as hell don't know anything about prank calls."

A.J frowned, "The prank calls that were made this morning."

"I never go a prank call."

"Me either."

"Not me."

"All right did anybody get a prank call this morning?" When nobody replied, A.J looked directly at Jay. The blond man had a huge smirk on this face, "You're so dead." Allen turned on his heels and marched out of the room not even looking at Karen as he did so.

As much as Karen wanted to run right after A.J, she didn't. Instead she walked over to Jay and sat down next to him, "What were you thinking?"

"It was just a rib. I've been waiting to get him back for ages. It just seemed like the perfect opportunity," Jay explained. "To be fair, he doesn't usually reaction like that."

"Bad move, he'd convinced himself that Kurt was setting us up. He's been in a foul mood since you called this morning."

"Ops! But he'll get over it …eventually."

"And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? He's supposed to be helping me take some bumps soon. But with him in that mood, I doubt that's gonna happen. Look, I'm gonna go talk to him." Karen stood up, "I suggest you apologise when you see him next. I know it was a rib but the timing was really off, Jay."

"Point taken. I'll grovel, I'm good at that."

Karen gave her friend a small smile, "I'll see you later." With that she got up and went in the same direction as A.J.

It didn't take her long to catch up with his disgruntled boyfriend. He was pacing up and down in the near by hallway. Karen approached him cautiously, "I come in peace."

At the sound of her voice, A.J stopped pacing, "I'm a complete idiot. I just made a totally fool of myself in front of the entire roster. I bet Kurt just loved that."

Karen placed her hand gently on his arm, "Screw Kurt. And I'm sure nobody thinks you're an idiot. It was just a rib, honey. Calm down."

Allen pouted, "Easy for you to say, nobody thinks you're a big joke."

"Are you kidding me? I've seen the way people look at me. I'm sure half of them don't think I have the right to even be here," Karen replied.

"Are you crazy? Everybody loves you around here. And do you know why? Because you aren't afraid to get stuck in and get your hands dirty."

"Speaking of which, are you still going to help me with that bump or are you going to stay here and sulk?"

A.J folded his arms over his chest, "I'm not sulking."

Karen closed the gab between them, "Are you sure about that?" She wrapped her arms around him, "Because I can see Mr Sulky Face."

A.J laughed in spite of his bad mood, "That's not funny."

The brunette smiled, leaning even closer to him, "Then why are you laughing?"

The TNA wrestler didn't answer her question, instead he pulled her right up against his body and kissed her on the lips.

Karen gladly returned the kiss and didn't pull back until she heard a throat being cleared behind them. She spun around to find Jeff Jarrett standing there.

"Hi, Jeff."

"I'm not interrupting something am I?"

"No," A.J said quickly.

"I'm glad about that. I was looking for the two of you … I wanted to talk to you about tonight."

"What about tonight?" A.J asked.

"I wanted to know if you'd be comfortable with kissing at the end of the match? I'm guessing after what I just witnessed that won't be a problem?"

"No problem at all," A.J replied with a grin.

Karen rolled her eyes, "I don't have a problem with that."

"Well I'm glad that's sorted, I'll see you later then." Jeff turned on this heels and walked back in the same direction he'd come in.

Karen waited until Jeff was out of earshot before she started panicking, "Oh my gosh, I have to kiss you on live television."

A.J shot her a curious look, "I thought you didn't have a problem."

"I don't … Not really. I'm just nervous, I guess."

The dark haired man, wrap his arm around her shoulder, "Why don't we go and find Kong and go over the bump and then maybe we can practice for tonight," he finished with a huge grin on his face.

"Someone's in a better mood now."

"Yeah, sorry about earlier. I may have overreacted a little bit."

Karen smiled as they started to walk down the hallway, "Just a little bit but don't worry, I'm sure I'll find a way for you to make it up to me."


	23. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing.**

**Authors note: Thanks for the reviews. You guys rock. This chapter is a little shorter than some of the other, it's just how it turned out. Please R & R.**

Chapter 22

In The Ring, Southaven, Mississippi, June 08, 2008

A.J and Karen stood alone in the ring, Kong had departed a few minutes ago after Karen had assured her she was now comfortable with taking the head shot. Both were dressed to compete with Karen wearing some black workout pants and a light green tank top. A.J was wearing his new wrestling tights and a black TNA tee shirt.

"Okay, are you sure you want to do this?" A.J asked.

"Not really but I got start somewhere," Karen admitted. "What am I supposed to be doing again?"

"Well, before the accident, like I said before you were getting pretty good …"

"But I don't remember any of that," Karen interrupted.

A.J rolled his eyes, "Yes, Sweetheart, I'm well aware of that. Which is why we are going to try something simple … I want you to try and hip toss me."

Karen laughed nervously, "You want me to hip toss you? There's just no way, I mean I don't have the strength to lift you."

Allen cast his eyes up and down his body, "Are you calling me fat?"

"No, of course not."

A.J smiled, "I'm glad about that but seriously, you can do this and I'll be doing most of the work."

Karen shot him a nervous look, "Okay then … let's get this over with."

A.J slowly went over the move with her and after a couple of attempts, Karen got the hang of it. "Okay, just one more time, really do it like you mean it."

This time when A.J came off the ropes and met her in the middle of the ring, Karen gave everything she had to make the hip toss look good. As A.J hit the mat, he yelled out in pain. His hand immediately going to his lower back.

"Oh my god ... A.J are you okay?" Karen rushed to be by his side, "Did I hurt you?"

A.J grinned at her, "I'm fine, I was just selling it."

Karen smacked him on the arm, "You really scared me for a moment."

The dark haired man leaned in closer to her, "Like you would ever hurt me …"

Just as he was about to kiss her all the lights went out causing Karen to scream. After a moment, Kurt's theme music started booming from the PA system.

"What the hell?" Karen asked.

A spotlight appeared and then Kurt made his way down the ramp, a huge smirk on his face. When he reached the ring, all the lights went back up. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"Nope, you just scared me, that's all," Karen admitted.

"Sorry about that," Kurt replied, sounding anything but sorry, "They needed to test the PA system and lights. So what you are guys doing?"

"I'm just showing Karen a few moves."

Kurt laughed, "Good luck with that, I tried for years to teach her, she was terrible. Worst student ever! I mean she was okay with some of the bump but otherwise forget it."

"She has amnesia Kurt, and she's never really wrestled before … We can't expect miracles," A.J replied sternly.

Karen couldn't help but feel a little hurt by the exchange. Kurt's words had really bothered her but A.J's had. He hadn't really defended her the way she had expected. Maybe she wasn't that good after all. Maybe he was just humouring her.

"I better go, gotta back to discuss things with Tomko." He climbed out of the ring again and walked up the ramp.

Karen waited before he was out of earshot before looking at A.J, "Can't expect miracles huh?"

"What?"

The brunette placed her hands on her hips, "If you can't expect miracles, why have you been telling me I was getting good?"

"You are … We just don't want Kurt knowing that."

"I don't understand."

"You know what Kurt's like, any chance to try and embarrass you and he's all over it like a shot. If he thinks you can't wrestle, he's likely to suggest you have a match or something on Impact," Allen explained.

Karen smiled at him, "So if he thinks I'm going to look like an idiot, he's sadly mistaken."

"Exactly."

Karen stepped forward and hugged him tightly, "I love you."

"Ditto."

With that the two, got out of the ring and headed towards the locker room area. A.J was going to speak to Jay. The blond man had requested a chance to apologise and Allen had arranged to meet him in a few minutes.

The pay per view had gone off without a hitch, the kiss had turned out good and Karen was feeling better than she had in a long time. Everything was starting to fall into place and much to her surprise Kurt had been nice to her and A.J when they had all reached the backstage area. The brunette had decided that if Kurt was being nice there had to be a reason for it. She'd excused herself from her boyfriend and 

gone to look in her husband's locker room for clues. She was half way through looking in his carry on bag when she heard the door opening. In a panic, Karen ran to hide behind the wall leading to the showers. Thankfully, Kurt had already showered so the chances of him coming this way were slim to none. From her vantage point Karen was shocked to see Kurt wasn't alone, A.J was with him. The two seemed to be having some sort of argument but as they were speaking in hushed tones, Karen was unable to hear exactly what they were saying.

After a few minutes, Kurt stormed out again, leaving A.J alone. The TNA Knockout was about to make her presence known when A.J's cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his jeans pocket and smiled when he looked at his caller id. "Hi … This is nice surprise. No, I'm not busy right now. I can talk."

For some strange reason, Karen found herself rooted to the spot, she didn't mean to listen into A.J's conversation but her curiosity got the better of her.

"I've missed you too, I can't wait to see you." A.J ran a hand through his hair which was still wet from the shower, "Things with Karen … Well they're complicated. This whole amnesia is making things difficult. Sometimes, she's like her old self and then it's like she this different person … Someone I don't even know."

Karen couldn't quite belief what she was hearing, she had no idea who A.J was talking to but she planned to find out.

"She says she loves me but I'm not sure she does deep down. Maybe she's in love with the idea of being in love. I don't know." A.J paused and listened as the other person spoke. "Of course I haven't told her that. She's got enough to deal with without me adding to things. Look I better go and find her, she doesn't like being alone around her without me … Is that A.J?"

Karen watched as another smile formed on A.J's face.

"I miss him so much. I'm gonna have to come and visit you both as soon as I get back from the UK tour. It's been too long since I've seen you. Thanks for calling, give A.J a kiss from his dad okay? I love you, bye." He slid his cell phone closed and walked out of the room.

Karen's jaw dropped, A.J had a child she knew nothing about, "Oh my god. How could he keep this from me?"


	24. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing over here.**

**Author's note: I just wanted to remind everybody that for the sake of this story, A.J is single and therefore, Wendy and his two adorable real life children do not exist. Sorry for any confusion there. Also, sorry for the delay in updating. Work's been crazy and this chapter was really difficult for me to write. It didn't turn out the way I wanted but if I didn't post it soon, the whole story would have probably come crashing to a huge halt and I didn't want that to happen as I love writing this story. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews. Please R & R.**

Chapter 23

Karen Angle's House, Tampa, Florida, June 11, 2008

It had been three days since the pay per view and due to circumstances beyond her control, Karen had been unable to confront A.J about what she had heard. On the Sunday night when they had returned to the hotel, Karen had gone to use the bathroom and when she walked back into the main room, A.J was fast asleep on top on his bed. Knowing they had an early flight back to Tampa in the morning, the brunette didn't have the heart to wake him.

She was all set to talk to him at the tapings on Monday evening when Jeff Jarrett had interrupted them before she'd gotten two words out of her month and announced that due to a mix up at the office, Karen hadn't been booked on the flight for the UK tour and was therefore unable to go. A.J seemed to have taken the news badly and again Karen had decided it wasn't a good time to talk to him about his child.

And at last night's tapings, Karen hadn't been present. She'd been at her house all day trying to sort out things in preparation for her divorce from Kurt. A.J hadn't questioned her decision not to join him in Orlando and Karen couldn't decide it that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The TNA Knockout was in her bedroom, sorting through a box of photographs she'd found hidden at the back of her closet. Unsurprisingly most of the pictures were of her and A.J. One picture in particular caught her attention. It was of her and A.J, A.J was holding a chocolate Labrador on his lap. Karen flipped the photo over to look at the back. Written in her handwriting was, 'Me, A.J and Allen at Phyllis' House.' Karen turned the photograph over again and studied it. "The dog must be called Allen too. I wonder who Phyllis is." Before she had time to give it further thought, her doorbell rang. As she wasn't expecting anybody, Karen walked into the front bedroom and glanced out of the window. A.J's truck was parked in the driveway. Karen quickly made her way down the stairs, as she reached the front door she hesitated. She could hear A.J talking on his cell phone.

"Maybe the whole thing is for the best, As much as I wanted her to come, a small part of me is glad she isn't going. That sounds terrible doesn't it?" A.J stopped talking for a moment and pressed the doorbell again. "But this does mean, I'll be returning on Monday instead of Friday so I could come and visit you and A.J instead. That is if you're not busy? … Awesome, that's settled then … I'll see you on Monday sometime. I love you, bye."

Karen waited a couple of moments after she heard A.J hang up the phone before she opened the door. "Hello," she said coolly.

A.J smiled at her, "Hey, just thought I'd stop by to see you before I go to the airport." He seemed to notice there was something wrong, "Are you okay?"

Karen shook her head, "No, A.J. I'm not."

"What's the matter, Sweetheart?"

"Don't sweetheart me, A.J. I just heard you on the phone. I guess you're happy I'm not going on the tour."

"What?"

Karen placed her hands on her hips, "Don't try to deny it, I heard you say it."

A.J made a face, "You were listening to my conversation?"

"Yeah and do you know what, it's not the first time either. It's amazing what you hear when people don't know you're listening."

A.J rubbed his forehead with his palm, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't matter. You better come in." The brunette side stepped, allowing him access to the house.

A.J walked into the living room and sat down on the nearest couch. He waited until Karen took a seat next to him before he started to speak, "What's going on here?"

Karen sighed heavily, "I'm going to ask you a question and I need to you answer it honestly, okay?"

The dark haired man frowned, "Okay … Shoot."

"Is there something you're not telling me because of the amnesia?"

Allen screwed his face up, "You think I'm keeping something from you? Like what?"

"Oh I don't know, something like the fact you have a child, perhaps?"

A.J looked at her as if she was crazy, "Excuse me?"

"On Sunday night, I was in Kurt's locker room when you came in. I didn't want Kurt to know I was there so I hid. I was going to tell you I was there when your cell phone rang. I heard everything. I heard you tell that woman that you loved her too."

"First of all … What the hell? Second of all … What the hell? I don't know what you think you heard but this is crazy talk. Do you honestly think that if I had a kid, I would hide it from you?"

"Well obviously you are, A.J."

The dark haired man threw his hands up in the air in frustration, "I don't believe this. Where is the trust?"

"You've lied to me before. I've got good reason not to trust you."

"I lied to you about a stupid key and technically, that wasn't a lie, I just didn't tell you about it."

Karen rolled her eyes, "It still amounts to the same thing. You didn't tell me the truth about it."

A.J shook his head, "This is not happening. Karen, I can't go on like this and I don't want to. This whole friends thing is clearly not working out. I think a clean break for both of us would be best. You and me are over."

The brunette gasped in shock, "What? You're breaking up with me?"

"Yeah, look I didn't want things to come to this but it's obvious that you don't trust me and if we don't have trust we don't have nothing. If you think I would hide something as important as a child then we have got some serious issues. I would never do something like that."

"But I heard you say …." As he stood, Karen grabbed his arm, "A.J, please … don't go. I just want an explanation … I want the truth."

A.J shrugged his arm loose, "I already told you the truth and you don't believe me. Do me a favour and just leave me alone from now on."

Things were turning out so horribly wrong for Karen, "You don't mean that. You said you loved me."

"I do but that's not enough. I need to go before I say something else I'll regret."

Karen placed her hands on her hips, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't matter."

"So that's it? What am I supposed to tell, Kurt?"

Allen shrugged, "Tell him what you like, quite frankly I don't care anymore. Just make sure you get your stuff out of my apartment by the time I get back."

Tears pricked in Karen's eyes, "A.J why are you being like that?"

"What am I being like this? Are you for real? You think I'm lying to you about having a child … I don't even know who you are anymore. Half the time it's like being with a stranger. And I'm not trying to blame you here."

"How do you think it is for me, huh?"

"We're going around in circles here, Karen. I have to go."

As he walked away Karen called out to him, "A.J please don't leave me."

A.J turned around, "I have to. Goodbye, Karen. I hope things work out for you, I really do."

Karen stood frozen to the spot, when she'd decided to confront A.J about what she'd heard the other night she hadn't expected this. Tears ran unchecked down her pretty face and the realisation that A.J had left her suddenly hit. His last words to her had sounded so final, "What have I done?"


	25. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: As always I own nothing.**

**Author's note: I've changed my pen name again to match my LJ and IJ, no other reason. Sorry for the delay on the update, hopefully they will be coming along again faster soon.**

Chapter 24

Outside Jay Reso's House, Tampa, Florida, June 11, 2008

Thirty minutes later after wondering around the streets, Karen found herself outside Jay's front door. The blond Canadian wasn't home but Karen had decided to wait for him. She suspected that he was taking Gail to the airport and should be returning anytime soon. While she waited, she sat down on his door step and it wasn't long until the tears had started to flow. She'd been there, her head lowered for about fifteen minutes when she heard a man with a Canadian accident speak. It just wasn't the one she was expecting.

"Karen?"

The brunette looked up, "Adam?"

"Hi," he replied, almost shyly. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm shit."

The tall Canadian sat down besides her, "That good eh?"

Karen wiped her face with the back of her hand, "Yeah, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see Jay and I'm guessing you're here for the same thing?"

"I don't even know how I ended up here. I just started walking. I think Jay's on his way back from the airport. Gail's going on the UK tour," Karen explained.

"Right, I'm kind of out of the loop these days. Kurt told me about the accident. I've been wanting to call you but I wasn't sure it would be a good idea," the blond man replied.

Karen frowned, "Why is that?"

Adam ran a hand through his hair, "You're not really speaking to me. We had a huge argument a couple of months ago."

"Oh no, that's terrible. Who's fault was it?"

Adam made a face, "That's a tough call. Mine, yours … A.J Styles'."

"What's A.J got to do with this?"

"Plenty. With me and Chris being the only ones left working in the WWE I don't get to see you guys very much. I decided to surprise you and dropped by your house. You didn't answer the door so I went around the back. The door was unlocked, I went inside and found you and him in bed together."

Karen's jaw dropped, "What?"

"Yeah, and I got to admit, I didn't really handle the situation so well. We had a huge fight, you said you never wanted to see me again. I said no problem and I haven't seen or spoken to you since."

"And do you still feel that way?" Karen asked.

"Let's just say, I've been educated to certain facts that I didn't know before."

"Like the fact that Kurt's been having an affair with Christy for the last three years?"

Adam nodded and scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, not really sure how I missed that one."

"I don't remember what happened but if you're willing to make up so I am. I need all the friends I can get right now."

"What happened? … I'm sorry that's none of my business."

"No, it's okay. I could do with something who's not so close to the situation to talk to. As you probably know for the last eight months, A.J and I were having an affair. After the whole accident, some stuff went down with Kurt and we're getting a divorce."

"Wow, that's huge."

"Yeah, it's been a long time coming it seems. Anyways, me and A.J were trying to make a go of things …"

"You remember him?"

"No, that's part of the problem."

Adam made a face, "So you're dating more or less a total stranger?"

"I was dating. He ended it this morning."

"What happened?"

"I made a huge mistake, that's what happened. I heard him on the phone talking to somebody … I'm not even sure who it was and he told whoever it was that he loved them."

The blond man frowned, "He's cheating on you?"

"No, that thought never crossed my mind. It was something else that he said. He told her to give A.J as kiss from his dad."

"Huh? A.J has a kid? I know I'm out of the loop but I didn't think I was that out of the loop."

"He hasn't mentioned a kid to you?" Karen asked.

"Maybe he would have if we were friends. We don't exactly get along."

"Oh … That kind of surprises me. I thought you would have been friends."

"No," Adam scratched his head again, "I'm not exactly sure why but we just seem to butt heads when we're in the same room. Did you ask Jay about the kid?"

"No, I was going to but A.J came to my place this morning and I kind of asked him about it directly."

"And he denied it?"

"You could say that but I know what I heard and he wouldn't offer me an explanation. So now I'm here on Jay's doorstep, crying my eyes out like a crazy person."

The Canadian wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "You're not a crazy person, K. From what you've told me, he's the one in the wrong, keeping stuff from you."

Before Karen could reply, she heard a loud cough. She looked up to find Jay standing there, "Jay, you scared me, I didn't even hear you pull up."

"Obviously … so what's going on here? Did hell freeze over or something?" He removed his sunglasses, "Because last I heard, you two weren't speaking to each other."

Adam removed his arm from the brunette's shoulder, "We made up, I've apologised for being an ass."

Jay placed his hands on his hips, "And you're okay with this?"

Karen nodded, "Yeah, it's not like I remember what happened anyway." She stood quickly and wiped her face with the back of her hand, "Did Gail make her flight okay?"

"Yeah, did something happen with you and A.J? I saw him at the airport and he was fucking pissed off. He wouldn't tell me what had happened though."

The TNA Knockout lowered her head, "Yeah, he ended things. I think it's over this time."

Jay frowned, "Do you want to talk about it? If Fatso shifts his ass we can go inside."

Adam rolled his eyes, "I'm moving, I'm moving." He got up to allow his fellow Canadian access to the door.

The shorter of the two blond men, pulled out his keys and opened the front door. He stepped inside and headed towards the living room area. Karen and Adam followed behind. While Karen explained what had happened with A.J, Adam had excused himself and gone to the bathroom leaving the two alone.

"I can honestly say if A.J has a kid, he's never said anything about him to me or anyone else in the locker room. Something like that isn't exactly the most easy thing to keep a secret. And I can't see Kurt keeping quiet about that if he knew."

Karen sighed heavily, "Then I don't understand."

"I'd say talk to him about it but with the mood he was in, might be best to leave it for the next .. ever." Jay smiled, "I'm just kidding. Maybe you could talk to him when he gets back from the tour. I'm sure he would have calmed down by then."

"I hope so, I hate that we are fighting again. He told me that we never fight but since I got out of hospital, we've been fighting all the time."

"You don't usually."

Karen shrugged, "Must be something to do with the amnesia then. Whatever it is, I want it to stop. Anyway, I should go and let you and Adam catch up."

Jay shot her a look of mock terror as Adam walked back into the room, "Don't leave me alone with him."

"Thanks a lot buddy. Gee, you know how to make a guy feel welcome."

Karen rolled her eyes, "I'm sure you'll survive Jay." She stood up from the couch, "I'll see you later."

"I'll see you out," Jay replied.

Karen Angle's House, Tampa, Florida

It had just turned 10 pm, Karen was sat alone in her living room. The television was on but just providing background noise as the brunette wasn't watching it, all she could think about was what had happened this morning with A.J. Karen jumped as her telephone rang suddenly. Unsure who would be calling at this time of night, she cautiously picked up the handset, "Hello?"

"Karen …" A.J slurred.

"A.J? Are you okay?"

"Noooooooooooo, I'm not okay."

Karen frowned, "Where are you?"

"I'm in England in my hotel room or if it's not my hotel room, I'm in trouble."

"What time is it over there?"

"Three in the morning … I think. I'm not sure."

"Have you been drinking?"

"I might have had one or two small drinks from the mini bar. Maybe a few more … I don't remember."

The more A.J talked, the more worried Karen became. One thing that stuck out in her mind, was the fact A.J had told he didn't really drink and now here he was, totally wasted and it was probably all her fault, "A.J, please don't drink anymore, okay?"

"What do you care? You don't care about me!"

"Allen, that's not true. I love you."

"Then … you've got a funny way of showing it. All I wanted to do was love you and what happened? I got my heart ripped into pieces … Again."

"A.J, I'm sorry I upset you, really I am. I just wanted the truth."

"I told you the truth," A.J whined. "You don't trust me and without trust we got nothing. Nothing. I just wanted to tell you how shit I feel right now."

"I'm not exactly feeling on top of the world myself, you know."

"Oh boo hoo, poor Karen … My heart bleeds for you."

Before Karen could reply, the phone was slammed down in her ear. Tears started to roll down her face when the phone rang again, quickly she pressed the talk button, "A.J?"

"No," a female voice replied, "But it is his mother. I think we should talk, don't you?"


	26. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing over here.**

**Notes: Sorry for the delay in updating again. Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please R & R.**

Chapter 25

Phyllis Jones' House, Gainesville, Georgia, June 12, 2008

Karen's conversation with A.J's mother had led to a surprising outcome for the brunette. Instead of the argument Karen had expected, the other woman had invited her to visit her house. She'd even arranged a plane ticket for Karen which she was very grateful for. Now, Karen was sat in the living room, having arrived five minutes previously, waiting for Phyllis to return from the kitchen. As she was waiting a chocolate Labrador bounded into the room, heading straight towards Karen.

"Hello there," Karen said as she petted the friendly dog. "You're so cute aren't you?" The dog barked in reply which amused the TNA Knockout no end. She petted him again.

Phyllis entered the room carrying two mugs of coffee. She placed them carefully on the coffee table in front of Karen, "I see you've met A.J."

Karen's jaw dropped, "That's A.J?"

"Yes, he's Allen's dog but he lives here because Allen's on the road so much and it wouldn't be fair to leave him on his own all the time. Plus Allen isn't allowed to have pets in his apartment. It broke his heart to have to leave him behind when he moved to Tampa. He's like a son to him."

Things were starting to click into place, "I don't believe this. Was Allen talking to you on Sunday night at the pay per view?"

"Yes Karen, he was. He told me what happened between the two of you and that's why I decided to call you last night."

Tears pricked Karen's eyes, "I can't believe A.J is a dog. I thought he was a child." She stroked the dog again. "Allen tried to tell me and I didn't believe him. How could I have been so stupid?"

"Trust is very important to my son. Had it been about something else then maybe he would have explained the situation to you."

Karen shot the other woman a confused look, "I don't understand."

"It's a long story but I guess we've got time, right?"

Karen nodded, "A.J wouldn't tell me, he just got angry."

Phyllis sighed, "Allen is a hot head. He gets that from his father, god rest his soul."

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't realise."

"Don't be sorry dear. You have amnesia. I can't expect you to remember and besides it happened a long time ago now." Phyllis paused for a moment and took a sip of her coffee, "I'm not sure how much Allen has told you but when I found out about your relationship I was shocked and probably not for the reasons you're thinking."

Karen frowned, "We haven't really talked about you at all since the accident so he hasn't told me anything about that."

The older woman nodded, "Before you came along my son has never had a proper girlfriend. I was starting to think he would never settle down."

"A.J mentioned he was shy around women," Karen replied.

"Yes and there's also another reason which he probably hasn't mentioned. He's already told you this before your accident so I'm not speaking out of turn … When Allen was a small boy he became friends with our next door neighbour's daughter, Sophie. There was never anything between them but friendship. That changed when Allen turned eighteen."

Karen picked up her coffee mug and took a drink, "What happened?"

"Sophie got in with a bad crowd and started drinking and smoking. I wasn't happy about it and tried to warn Allen to stay away from her. Of course he wouldn't listen. One night, Allen got drunk and when he woke up in the morning, Sophie told him that they had slept together. Allen couldn't remember a thing."

"A.J said he didn't drink much these days … Is this the reason why?"

"Partially, things will become clearer as I tell you more of the story. About a month later, Sophie told Allen that she was pregnant with his child."

Karen's jaw dropped, "Oh my god, what happened?"

"Although he was never in love with her, Allen wanted to make a go of things with Sophie for the baby's sake. He quit school and got two jobs to support them both. Fast forward eight months and as soon as the baby was born we knew it wasn't Allen's."

Karen made a face, "How did you know?"

"Both Sophie and Allen are white, the baby was mixed race. Turns out that Sophie had lied to him about the whole thing. They never even slept together. She intentionally deceived him because she knew how much Allen loved kids."

"Oh my god, that's terrible. What did A.J do?"

"He wanted to keep the baby, the real father wasn't on the scene."

Karen couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, "That was very noble of him."

A.J's mother shook her head, "No, that was very stupid of him. Five months later when Allen was very attached to that little boy, Sophie left and took the baby with her. My son came home from work one day to find a note and he's not been the same since. So you can imagine my surprise when I find out he's having an affair with a married woman."

"Shocked the hell out of me too … I mean when he told me we were having an affair."

"From what you've told me, your marriage has been over for a long time. As I said, I was against Allen being with you to start with but that soon changed as soon as I saw the two of you together. You made my son happy and that was all that matters to me."

The brunette frowned, "I'm not making him happy at the moment. He's so mad at me I don't think we'll ever get passed this."

"You will, he just needs time and space to calm down. Trust me on that one." Phyllis smiled, "After all you somehow broke through that brick wall he'd built up around his heart."

"I had no idea about any of this stuff. I don't know why A.J didn't tell me about it earlier."

"He probably didn't want to burden you with it. He's really worried about you, probably more than you know."

Karen shook her head, "Maybe he was before yesterday, he doesn't even believe I love him anymore."

"He knows you do."

"I was leaving Kurt, the day of the accident so we could be together, did he tell you that?"

Phyllis nodded, "He did."

"I'm just so confused, if only I could remember something … anything but it's all blank."

"That must be terrible for you and I'll bet you're sick and tired of hearing that, aren't you?"

Before Karen could answer, her cell phone beeped loudly indicating she had a text message. Karen reached into the front pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. She clicked on the new message button, "It's from A.J." She wasn't really sure what to expect so she cautiously pressed read message. The message read, 'Did I call you last night?' Karen made a face, he must have been pretty wasted if he couldn't even remember making the call. Instead of hitting the reply button she selected use number and called him. The phone rang and rang but he never picked up. "He's not answering."

"Maybe he's not able to talk or he's away from his cell phone. Sometimes those messages take a while to come through."

"Or maybe he's ignoring me," Karen suggested. "That's probably the most likely." The brunette yawned, "Excuse me, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Would you like to take a nap? I can put you in Allen's room."

"You don't mind?"

"No, you'll probably feel better for it." Phyllis stood up, "If you want to follow me, I'll show you to your room."

"Thanks." Karen followed the older woman pulling her small suitcase behind her, up the stairs, along a short hallway and into a bedroom.

"I'll let you get some rest, if you need anything just holler," A.J's mother said as she exited the room.

"Thanks Phyllis," Karen called out to her retreating form. The brunette placed her suitcase down in the corner of the room. She decided it was probably best if she didn't unpack it straight away just in case things didn't work out and she needed to leave quickly.

Although Karen had yawned downstairs and she didn't sleep much the previous night, she wasn't really that tired. She had just figured it might be better for her to be alone to process the information she'd just found out. No wonder A.J had been pissed with her when she accused him on having a child. How could she have been so stupid? Karen was about to sit down on the bed when a book onto of the wooden nightstand on the left hand side of the queen sized bed caught her eye. It wasn't so much the book but the envelope that was sticking out of it. Knowing she should probably leave it alone, the brunette sat on the bed after all. She managed a whole two minutes before her curiosity got the better of her and she reached over and grabbed the envelope. To her surprise, her name was written on it in A.J's handwriting. Unsure if she should open it or not, Karen decided that it couldn't do any harm and carefully pulled back the sealed lip, removing the content. Inside was a short letter from A.J. Karen couldn't tell when it had been written because it wasn't dated but by the wording he had used, it clearly before her car accident.

As she reached the end of the letter Karen gasped loudly, totally shocked by what she had read in the last line, "Oh my god!"


	27. Chapter 26

**Sorry for the delay in posting this latest chapter. Got a small case of writer's block. I'm hoping I'm past that now. I have started a new story, It's not about you. If you want to check that out if you haven't already. Thanks for the reviews. Please R & R. **

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing over here.  
**

Chapter 26

Tears were rolling down Karen's face. She couldn't believe what she'd just read in A.J's letter. How could she have been so stupid as to not trust him about something as important as children when all along the thing A.J had wanted most of all was her to be the mother of his children. "How could I have been so wrong? …. I gotta fix this. I just hope he'll listen to me when he's calmed down." Her phone beeped indicating she had another text message. She was kind of surprised when she picked up the phone and found that it text was from A.J again. She quickly wiped the tears away from her eyes and opened the message. It read. 'Backstage, bored and miserable.'

Karen made a face. It wasn't exactly the message she was hoping for. Knowing that she'll probably regret it later, she sent a message back telling him she loved him. A minute or so later her phone beeped again. A.J had replied again. The brunette took a deep breath before opening the message. It read, "Don't text me."

Karen's jaw dropped, "What the hell? It's all right for you to text me but I can't text you back? I don't think so buddy!" Angered by the message, Karen selected his number out of her address book and pressed the call button. It rang out but he didn't answer. "Damn it, pick up the phone." When he still didn't answer, Karen hung up the phone. Moments later, it beeped again. Another message from A.J, it read, 'Don't call me either.'

Karen pressed the redial button again and this time he did answer, "What part of don't call me either did you not understand?"

"Why do you keep sending me messages if I'm not allowed to text you back?"

"…"

"You're giving me the silent treatment now? Wow, A.J, that's mature."

"I never said I was mature. I'm so messed up right now, you're making me do crazy things."

"That's not fair. I said I was sorry for not believing you and I don't expect that to make things right between us but you could at least make an effort," Karen replied.

"Make an effort?" A.J yelled down the phone, "Are you freaking kidding me?"

"No Allen … I'm not freaking kidding you. If we're going to work things out we need to talk about it."

A.J tutted, "And who says I want to work things out? I told you it was over."

Karen sighed, "You don't believe that for one second or you wouldn't keep sending me messages."

"And you're suddenly an expert on us? You don't know anything about us," A.J said coldly.

"I remember that night we spent in that hotel room in Southaven, Mississippi. You know the one with the crack in the ceiling and the leaky toilet?"

"I have to go, I … I … love you … bye." He'd already hung up the phone before Karen could reply.

"Damn it, A.J. Just when we were getting somewhere but at least he said I love you. That's gotta count for something right. And why am I talking to myself?" Karen shook her head. She quickly sent him another text message telling him she loved him too and promptly put the phone on the nightstand. She decided she better try and take that nap soon in case A.J wanted to talk to her after the show. Probably wishful thinking on her part. It had taken her a long time to drift off to sleep despite how tired she felt. Unsurprisingly, she had dreamt about A.J. In the dream, he she could hear his voice, pleading with her to wake up and when she did wake up, she expected to see him but he wasn't there. She was completely alone.

Four days later and Karen hadn't heard anything more from A.J. She found out he'd been kicked in the teeth at the second house show at Liverpool but was okay thanks to Gail and she'd sent him several answered text messages which had only confused her more. It was like he'd cut her off again and as much as the brunette tried to convince herself she deserved it she could help but think he would have come around by now. On the brighter side, she had been getting on well with A.J's mother and had an open invitation to stay as long as she wanted. Karen had decided to stay until Friday, providing that it was okay with A.J. She had no idea if he knew she was there or not and no way of knowing how he was going to reaction when he found out.

As part of her daily routine, Karen had been taking A.J's Labrador for a long walk. For some reason, Karen felt instantly attached to the dog and in time the dog seemed to feel the same way. It was around four in the afternoon when the TNA Knockout and her four legged friend had returned to Phyllis' house. As soon as they had reached the back door, Karen had let him off the lead, the dog had raced into the living room before she'd even had chance to take her shoes off. As Karen walked through the kitchen, she could hear A.J's voice. He seemed excited to see the dog.

"Hello boy, where have you been eh? Have you missed me?"

Karen could help but smile to herself as the dog barked in reply and as A.J continued to fuss over his name sake, she slowly walked into the living room. "Hi A.J."

A.J stopped petting the dog and looked up, "What are you doing here?" He turned to his mother, "What's she doing here?"

"I invited her to stay with me while you were in England," Phyllis replied calmly.

A.J made a face, "Why?"

"Because she's very confused right now and needs all the help she can get … why do you think?"

"How's your mouth?" Karen asked, pushing aside the feeling of hurt at his reaction of seeing her.

The dark haired man frowned, "How did you know about that?"

"Gail sent me a message. I was going to send you a message but I wasn't sure if you would reply or not," Karen explained.

Allen sighed, "I asked you to leave me alone."

Phyllis got up from her place on the sofa, "I'm just going to take A.J for a walk."

"But I only just took him," Karen replied.

The older woman smiled, "It won't do him any harm to go again. I think the two of you need some privacy to talk."

"No we don't," A.J protested. "We have nothing to say to each other."

"Don't be so stubborn Allen. You need to listen to what Karen has to say. I won't be back until later on tonight. I've arranged to have dinner with a couple of friends. I know the two of you will be okay without me. I'll see you later."

"See you later," Karen echoed.

As she walked out of the room, A.J followed her into the kitchen. "How long has she been here?"

"Since you've been in England. I know you said you weren't sure if she even loves you … well take it from me, that girl loves you with all her heart. Please don't throw that away because of your pride."

A.J screwed up his handsome face, "Pride? This isn't about pride Mom."

Phyllis placed her hands on her hips, looking directly at her son, "Do you love her?"

"Of course I love her but she doesn't trust me."

"Then you just have to show her she can and stop behaving like a five year old. Honestly, Allen, I thought I raised you better than that."

A.J lowered his head, "So you're taking her side?"

"This isn't about taking sides. I don't want you self destructing again. Karen makes you happy and that counts for a lot in my book. I know she's hurt you a lot but it wasn't intentional."

"I know … I'm not promising anything but I try okay?"

"Good boy."

A.J blushed, "I'm not a boy, Mom."

She smiled at him, "You'll always be my little boy, Allen." She stepped forward and gave him a quick hug. "A.J!" she yelled out. Moments later, the dog came running into the kitchen. "Good luck."

"Thanks I'm gonna need it." As he walked back into the living room, he found Karen still sat on the sofa. She raised her head as she heard him approach.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Hi, I'm gonna take a quick shower and then we'll talk okay?"

Karen nodded, "Okay." No sooner had A.J gone up the stairs did Karen hit upon an idea. Maybe talking about how much she loved and trusted A.J wasn't enough anymore, maybe she needed to show him. She took a deep breath and made her way up the stairs. After stalling in A.J's bedroom for a few minutes, she undressed and wrapped a towel from the airing cupboard around her. Then she nervously walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Although Phyllis had said she wouldn't be back for hours, Karen wasn't taking any chances. Knowing it was now or never, the brunette crossed the room and opened the shower cubicle door. Quickly she hung up the towel on the nearby hook and got inside.


	28. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I'm still owning nothing over here.**

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update this again. Thanks for all the reviews so far. Please R & R.**

Chapter 27

Hours later when Karen awoke she couldn't keep the smile from her face when she opened her eyes and found A.J sleeping peacefully in the bed besides her. His arm was wrapped loosely around her. They'd had sex for the first time since the accident and although she had yet to regain her memory, something just felt so right between them. The brunette sighed happily and snuggled up to the dark haired man. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he replied suddenly.

"I thought you were asleep."

"I was and then I must have felt you moving or something."

"Sorry."

He opened one eye, "You could always make it up to me."

"Again? I thought you were tired," Karen replied.

A.J pulled her closer to him, "You wore me out Sexy Butt."

Karen laughed at his use of her nickname, "Maybe later then, when you have your strength back."

"Mmm … later …"

The TNA knockout was about to reply when she realised he'd fallen back to sleep. Poor A.J must have been so tired after his flight back from England. Karen decided she should try and go back to sleep herself. She closed her eyes and eventually drifted back to sleep.

Karen must have been more tired than she thought because she didn't wake until early the next morning. And when she did open her eyes, she found A.J watching her.

"Hi."

The dark haired man smiled at her, "Hi."

"Have you been awake long?" Karen asked.

A.J shifted his head from side to side for a moment, "About an hour."

Karen frowned, "Why didn't you wake me?"

"You just looked so beautiful and the longer you slept the more time I had to figure out something I want to ask you," A.J explained.

"You want to ask me something?"

Allen nodded, "It's pretty important."

Karen struggled to sit up into the seating position, "What is it?"

A.J looked away for a moment, "I … Um …" He turned back to face her, "I … Um …"

The brunette smiled, "You already said that A.J."

AJ suddenly reached out for her hand, "Well, I know we haven't exactly been getting along lately with the whole amnesia thing but I'm kinda hoping that we could put that behind us …"

Karen made a face, "Didn't we do that yesterday?"

The dark haired man gave her a smile, "Yesterday … I think we both needed that … Or at least I needed that. It really made me realise something."

Butterflies started to form in the pit of Karen's stomach, "And what's that?"

"It's kind of what I've been building up to ask you."

"Which is?"

A.J smiled at her again, "I'm getting the feeling that someone's getting a little impatient around here."

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Yeah, now please will you just tell me what it is?"

A.J finally put Karen out of her misery, "Well you know how when we were back in Tampa I told you to move all your stuff out by the time I got back?"

A sad look crossed her pretty face, "How could I forget that?"

"You didn't do that right?"

The TNA Knockout shook her head, "I was going to do it when I got back from here. I didn't exactly plan on visiting your mom."

A.J leaned in closer towards her and stroked her face gently sending a small shiver up her spine, "How about you do the exact opposite and move all your stuff in?"

Karen's jaw dropped, "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Yeah … Just into the spare room if that's what you want?"

"No."

Allen lowered his head, "Oh … I just thought that …"

Karen reached out and forced his chin up with her hand, "No as in I don't want to move into the spare room. If we're going to do this I want to move into your room. I want to wake up with you every morning for the rest of my life. A.J, I love you. I had no idea how much until I almost lost you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

He grinned at her, "You mean it?"

"More than anything."

"Come here."

Karen closed the gap between them until she was in his arms, "I'm sorry about everything, I really am."

"Me too, Sweetheart. Me too."

Karen pulled back, "So we're really going to live together?"

"Oh yeah … It's gonna be phenomenal."

Karen gave him a coy smile, "I thought that was yesterday afternoon?"

"What?"

"It was like our first time to me … and second and third. It is always like that?"

A.J blushed slightly, "Pretty much. Remember how I told you the night before the accident we'd had amazing sex?"

"Yeah."

"Well now you know just how amazing it was." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Karen slapped his bare chest playfully, "Oh my god, you're so full of it, Mr Jones."

A.J shot her a wounded look, "You didn't think it was amazing?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Then what's the problem here?" A.J asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Karen shook her head, "There's no problem …" she trailed off when her stomach grumbled, "Except I'm hungry. You up for some breakfast?"

"Sure, I'm pretty hungry myself. Do you and my mom have plans today?"

The brunette shook her head again, "Nope, no plans, we were kind of waiting until you got here."

"In that case, how about I take you to see where I grew up? It's not that far from here and I've never taken you there before so somewhere new to make memories," A.J suggested.

"That sounds like a plan. Your mom has been showing me your baby photos … You were so adorable."

A.J blushed again and then grinned at her, "I'm still adorable."

Karen rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say. Now let's get that breakfast, I'm starving."

About an hour later Karen and A.J found themselves outside of an old abandoned trailer that A.J used to call home as a kid.

"So this is where I grew up. Granted it didn't look this bad when we lived here but it didn't look that good either," Allen explained. As they walked down the walkway, A.J continued, "And we didn't have this walkway either. There was nothing like that here back then." He pushed the door open, "Watch your step as you go in, there's a lot of stuff in the way. My parents and my little brother would sleep out here on a fold out couch. It was too cold to sleep in the back bedroom because we didn't have central heating or nothing just kerosene heaters."

Karen followed the TNA wrestler into the next doorway. "And My two older brothers and me would sleep in this room which had like a bed in there," A.J explained.

"Wow, how did all of you fit in there?"

"I honestly don't know. It must have been really weird." Again they moved on to other room, "Here's the bathroom. We didn't have running hot water so we just used to heat it on the kerosene heater and take a luke warm bath with a sponge or whatever." A.J lead her to the final room in the trailer, "And nothing happened back here because it was too cold. It's funny but as a kid you don't notice how small things are. Coming back here now … this place is tiny."

A.J walked back into the main area of the trailer and took hold of Karen's hand. "Do you want to hear a story?"

"Sure."

"One day I was sick and couldn't go to school and there was nobody home to watch me because my brothers were all at school and my parents were at work so I was home here by myself ... There was a kerosene heater and I liked playing with fire of course. I was like in the second grade … And some of the fire started getting under the heater so I picked up the heater and threw it out of the door and ran down the street to my neighbour's house. Something I wish it didn't have to go through … It was real scary at the time."

"Aw, A.J … I can imagine."

We'd go out back and play in the woods and ride our bicycles. All part of my past, can't change who I am."

Karen squeezed his hand, "Let's get out of here, honey."

"I think that would be for the best. But I just wanted to show you where I came from, you know?"

"I know and thank you for sharing this with me."

"Anyways, let's get out of here so we can go home."

"Home … I like that sound of that."

**Author's note: The part where A.J took Karen to the trailer was taken from A.J's DVD. There is a reason for that and I'm just being lazy. **


	29. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing over here.**

**Author's notes: Thanks to everyone for the reviews. This chapter is a little choppy. Again there is a reason for that and all will be revealed soon. And for those who have been waiting for Karen to regain her memory ... it's coming. I was originally going to end the story in a few chapters time and start a sequel but I've scrapped that idea and decided it will work better as just one story so it won't be coming to an end anytime soon. Okay, I think I've rambled on enough now. Please R & R and enjoy.  
**

Chapter 28

Orlando International Airport, Orlando, Florida, September 17, 2008

The last three months had been fairly uneventful for Karen. Her memory had yet to return but things were going great relationship wise for her and A.J. Since they had returned from his mom's house in Atlanta they hadn't argued at all. Something that Karen was really thankful for. Her divorce from Kurt had been finalised and she was now official a singe woman again.

She was currently at the airport waiting for A.J to return with their tickets. TNA were sending them to the UK to promote the next overseas tour in January. The brunette was really excited that they were finally going to get a chance to go on the trip they had planned for back in June. Or at least she was excited until she saw A.J walking towards her with a very worried look on his face.

"What's the matter?"

"You're not going to be believe this … We can't go in England."

"What? Why not? Don't tell me the office messed up the booking again?" Karen asked, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

A.J shook his head, "No they didn't mess up the booking because there was never any booking to start off with."

Karen frowned, "A.J, you're not making any sense."

Allen took hold of her hand and pulled her closer to him, "There wasn't any booking in the first place because this whole thing was a set up. We're not going to England."

Karen's frown deepened, "Then where are we going to?"

"Paris."

Karen's heart skipped a beat, "Are you freaking kidding me?"

A hint of a smile graced A.J's face, "Nope … Surprise!"

For a moment Karen just stood there and said nothing. She couldn't believe what her boyfriend had just told her. They were going to Paris as a surprise.

The dark haired man frowned when she didn't reply, "What's the matter? I thought you'd love the idea."

Karen tried her best to blink back the tears that had suddenly formed, "I do … It's just I wasn't expecting this at all. I love you Allen Jones."

"I love you too, Sweetheart." He reached up and wiped a stray tear away with his thumb. "You weren't supposed to cry."

Karen sniffed slightly, "These are happy tears. I can't believe you did all this for me. Kurt would never have done anything like this."

"I'm not Kurt."

"I know and I thank God everyday that you're not."

"Then that's enough about your idiot ex-husband. Let's get checked in and we can get this show on the road."

Karen smiled, "Let's do it."

A.J & Karen's Hotel Room, Paris, France, September 18, 2008

It was around noon when Karen woke up on their first day in Paris. The flight had been very enjoyable thanks to A.J booking them first class tickets. Speaking of A.J, Karen rolled over expecting to find him laying next to her but all she found was an empty space and a note on the pillow. The brunette rubbed her eyes and focused on the piece of paper in front of her, it read, 'Gone for a walk, couldn't sleep … Didn't want to wake you … Love Allen.' Karen smiled as she placed the note on the nightstand on her side of the bed. Deciding it was probably best if she got dressed, ready for A.J's return. She walked over to the closet, pulled a white tank top and some stonewashed skinny legged jeans and headed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower.

A.J had returned by the time she was showered and changed. When Karen exited the bathroom, she found him pacing up and down the main room, chewing on his thumbnail.

"You're back … Did you have a nice walk?"

"Yeah, it was cool … Did you sleep well?"

The TNA Knockout smiled, "Like a log, I missed you when I woke up. Not used to waking up alone these days."

"You looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you."

"Now where have I heard that before?" Karen teased.

A.J rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I know. I've said it before."

"You okay? You seem a little edgy today?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just excited, I guess. Plus I had three cups of coffee while I was out."

Karen looked at him in disbelief, "Three? Oh my god, I'm going to have to deal with hyper Allen all day."

A.J shrugged, "I was thirsty and it tasted so good. Are you hungry, we could go grab some lunch?"

"Actually, I was just going to suggest the same thing, I'm starving."

A.J smiled, "Then that's settled then. Lunch it is. I know just the place."

"Great, I'll just grab my purse."

"What for?"

"So I can buy lunch."

A.J frowned, "You're not paying for lunch okay … It just ain't happening."

"Okay, I'll just buy dinner later." She promptly stuck out her tongue at him.

A.J grinned, "My god, you are so sexy."

Karen laughed and smacked him lightly on the arm, "You're such a dork."

"But you still love me, right?"

"More than anything."

"That's good because today is our one year anniversary … I know you don't remember which is why I haven't said anything sooner."

"I haven't got you a present."

"Being here with you is the only present I need," A.J replied honestly.

"You really mean that don't you?"

"Uh huh, now let's got out of here."

Karen smiled, "Yes Sir!"

A few minutes later they were walking towards the restaurant A.J had picked out for them. They had just walked passed the Effiel Tower when A.J stopped. "I just need to tie my shoe."

"Okay." Karen turned around to look up at the tower.

"Um … Karen … Can you help me out here?"

Karen didn't turn around for a moment, "You want me to help you tie your shoe?"

"Yeah … Please?"

The brunette shook her head, turned around and got the shock of her life to find A.J down on one knee, holding a beautiful ring in his hand, "Oh shit."

A.J laughed and then his face turned serious, "Karen Angle, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Karen's jaw dropped, "Oh my god."

"Is that a yes?"

The brunette felt her knees go weak, "I think I need to sit down … and it's a yes."

A.J slipped the ring onto her finger and got up from the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly, I don't know … I wasn't expecting that."

"I've been planning it a couple of weeks …" A.J trailed off as he noticed Karen start to fall. He only just managed to catch her before she hit the floor. "Karen? Karen? Are you okay?"


	30. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing over here.**

**Author's Notes: This chapter skips around but it should be the last one that does. Thanks for the reviews. Please R & R.**

Chapter 29

The first thing Karen saw when she opened her eyes was A.J starring back at her with a concerned look on his face, "What happened?"

"I'm pretty sure you fainted." He handed her a small bottle of water, "Here, drink this."

The brunette gratefully accepted the liquid from him and took a swig, "Thanks. I don't know why I fainted. One minute I was fine, the next everything went black."

A.J frowned, "When was the last time you ate?"

"Last night … I hope I'm not getting sick. That would seriously suck."

"I sure hope not. Let's get you something to eat and we'll take it easy until you're feeling better. Can you walk or do you need me to carry you?"

Karen smiled, "I can walk but you'd carry me in a heartbeat wouldn't you?"

"I sure would."

"I love you."

A.J helped Karen up to her feet, "You've been saying that a lot lately."

"It's true. I've never felt like this about anybody before … I know that sounds really corny but it's true."

Allen winked at her, "Well not that you can remember, right?"

Karen shook her head playfully, "Unbelievable."

A.J kissed her soundly on the lips, "You know I was just messing with ya."

"Lucky for you I do."

After lunch Karen was still feeling a little off so she and A.J returned to their hotel room to relax. Karen had protested at first but A.J had been most insistent and declared it was better to be safe than sorry.

The two were currently laying on the bed, A.J was explaining to her the reason why he had chosen the spot by the Effiel Tower to propose. "I was hoping that I wouldn't need to explain this to ya and you'd remember by yourself but seeing as that didn't happen … That was the exact spot we were arguing about your necklace the last time we were in Paris."

"It was?"

"Yeah, it was a lot more crowded than today."

"Aww, that's so sweet …"

A.J frowned, moving closer his girlfriend, "Are you okay? I'm starting to get worried about you."

Karen took a deep breath, "Honestly, I'm not sure. I just felt a little dizzy again. Maybe I am getting sick."

"Well there goes my plans for wild anniversary sex," A.J deadpanned.

The TNA Knockout burst out laughing despite herself, "I can't believe you just said that."

A.J kept his face straight, "I was being serious."

Karen raised an eyebrow, "I thought we made love?"

A.J grinned at her, "Usually we do but tonight was going to be all about the wild sex."

"You're so silly … Argh!" The brunette grabbed her head as she felt a sharp stabbing pain on her forehead.

"Karen? That's it I'm calling a Doctor or something."

Karen looked up, "I'm fine … The pain has gone now."

The TNA wrestler made a face, "I still think you should see a Doctor, people don't just faint for no reason and the certainly don't just get a pain in their heads like that."

Impact Tapings, Orlando, Florida, May 5, 2009

Almost seven months had passed since their anniversary trip to Paris. Since that time, Karen had complained on severe head pains and had visited the doctors on numerous occasions. Scans and tests had all come back clear and none of the doctors including Dr. Yelland had a clue what was wrong with her.

Despite the uncertainty of her health, A.J and Karen had pushed along with their wedding plans. The dark haired man had suggested that they have a quiet wedding in Vegas and then have a blessing in Tampa after too many people were trying to take over their wedding.

As Karen walked backstage at the Impact Zone she was heading towards the locker room in search of A.J when she saw Kurt coming the other way. It was impossible for the brunette to avoid her ex-husband so she just had to hope he wasn't planning on causing any trouble. Since A.J had announced their engagement, Kurt and Christy had left them alone.

"Hey Karen," Kurt said brightly, "A little bird tells me you and A.J are getting married on Friday … Congratulations … I really mean that. Who'd have thought that you two would actually have lasted this long? Certainly not me."

Karen rolled her eyes, "Thanks Kurt … I guess. Was there something else you wanted because I really need to find A.J."

The bald man smirked, "Actually there is … I wanted to apologise for the way that I treated you after your accident that was very wrong of me. I really should have been there for you and I wasn't … I'm sorry. Have you seen the doctor lately about your amnesia?"

"Nope, there isn't anything they can do. I've just got to wait and see if anything comes back. But because it's been going on for like a year now, they aren't holding out much hope," Karen explained.

Kurt looked down for a moment and then pulled out his phone. He quickly sent a text message and then turned the phone to his pant front pocket, "Well that sucks. Anyways, I'm glad we had this little chat, I think it's been good for us."

"If you say so."

"I do, in fact what you do you say to hug?"

Karen made a face, "A hug?"

"Yeah, just to show there isn't any hard feelings."

"Okay I guess."

Kurt opened his arms and embraced the brunette after a second he suddenly kissed her on the lips.

"What the hell is going on here?" A.J's voice boomed from behind them.


	31. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I'm still owning nothing.**

**Chapter Warnings: The following chapter contains character death (although not graphic) and attempted suicide. **

**Author's note: This chapter kind of skips around a bit but will be the last chapter to do that for the foreseeable future. I'm hoping to update again soon so I don't leave you hanging. Thanks for the reviews. You guys rock.**

Chapter 30

Karen backed away from Kurt as fast as she could, "A.J, I can explain, it's not what you're thinking."

"Karen, please don't say anything." He turned his attention to Kurt, "Got anything to say?"

Kurt smirked, "It was just a kiss, it didn't mean anything. Karen just wanted a goodbye kiss."

"You kissed …" Karen trailed off when A.J held up his hand to silence her.

"So let me get it straight … You're telling me that Karen kissed you?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying but it didn't mean anything at least not to me, I can't really speak for Karen."

"Bullshit," Karen protested.

"Would you please stop talking," A.J told her. Karen was about to reply when she saw the dark haired man wink at her before turning back to face Kurt.

"You're so full of it Kurt. I wasn't born yesterday and I'm not an idiot despite what some people think. I got your text message just a couple of minutes ago to come outside because there was something wrong with Karen and I get here and what do you know, I find you kissing my girlfriend. So I got a question … What's this all about Kurt? Revenge?"

"Look, I don't want any trouble … I just wanted to make you feel like you made me feel when Karen cheated on me with you."

A.J got right up in Kurt's face, "So it was about revenge. You're pathetic. You cheat on Karen for three fucking years with Christy and you expect her to just put up with that?" A.J shook his head, "That's pretty sad."

"I don't care what you think, A.J. We're even now … let's just forget it."

"No, we're not even quite yet." Without warning A.J punched Kurt hard in the nose, "Now we're even … What? You didn't think I was going to let you get away with that stunt you just pulled did ya? Like I said, you're pathetic."

A.J turned and took Karen by the hand, "Let's get out of here, we've got a flight to catch."

Karen was too stunned by what she had just witnessed to reply immediately so instead the two walked silently along the hallway and out into the parking lot. It was only after they were both inside A.J's truck that Karen spoke, "That was awesome, A.J. I thought for a minute you were going to believe Kurt."

"Not even for a second. I trust you, Sweetheart. I know you would never cheat on me with Kurt."

"I wouldn't … I love you."

"I love you too, Christy."

Karen's jaw dropped, "You just called me Christy."

A.J looked at her like she was a crazy person, "No, I didn't. Why would I call you Christy?"

"I don't know but you did."

"I didn't. Are you feeling unwell? I think you're hearing things. I called you Karen. I love you, Karen. I don't even like Christy."

Karen was about to reply when the now familiar pain shot through her forehead, "Argh …" The brunette clutched her head until the pain passed a few minutes later.

"Karen? Are you okay?"

"I think so …I just wish I knew what was causing these headaches."

"Me too. Look let's get you to the airport and hopefully, you'll be okay to fly."

Karen looked up at him, "No way I'm missing that flight. I've got a wedding to get to."

Outside A.J and Karen's Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, May 08, 2009

The wedding had gone off without a hitch a few hours earlier and the happy couple were out walking around, taking in the atmosphere before they were planning on returning to their honeymoon suite.

"Damn it …"

"What's the matter?" Karen asked.

"I left my wallet in the hotel room and I don't have any money on me. Do you?"

"Nope, I thought I saw you pick up your wallet."

A.J reached into his pant pockets and found nothing, "I did but I must have put it back on the bed. I'll just go and get it, I won't be a minute."

"Okay, do you want me to come with you?"

"Nah, it's okay. You stay here … I love you Mrs Jones."

Karen smiled brightly at him, "I love you too, Mr Jones. I'm just going to do a little window shopping over there." As A.J walked away, Karen moved down the street and started to look in the window of a nearby store. She stayed there for a good fifteen minutes before she heard a commotion in the distance. It was only at this time that she realised that A.J had not returned. She decided to head back to the hotel to catch up with her husband. She'd only walked a couple of metres when she spotted a group of people gathering around someone on the floor. Karen didn't know why but instantly she knew that person was A.J. She ran as fast as she could to get to him, only to be pushed back by a man standing near by.

"Please stay back, he's been stabbed."

"Get out of my way, that's my husband," Karen barked as she went around him and finally reached A.J. "Allen? What happened?" She gently lifted him up to a semi sitting position.

"They … stole my watch," A.J said weakly, "I tried to stop them but I couldn't. I'm sorry."

"Someone call 911," Karen yelled out.

"They are on their way," the man who had pushed Karen back moments ago replied.

Karen turned her attention back to A.J. "Please hold on, help will be here any minute."

"So cold," A.J replied, "And tired." His eyes started to close.

"No Allen, don't go to sleep I need you to start awake for me. Can you do that?"

"I love you … I'll always love you."

Before Karen could reply A.J's head rolled to the side and she knew he was gone, "Noooooooooooooooooooo."

Outside Jay Reso's House, Tampa, Florida, May 15, 2009

Karen had hardly spoken a word in the week that had passed since A.J's death. Partly due to the fact that she was still in shock over his sudden death and partly because of the medication the doctor had put her on. As she stood in the driveway with Jay and Adam, Karen suddenly realised what she needed to do. She needed to be with Allen and there was only one way she could do that.

"Shit, I left my jacket in the truck … I'll just go and get it," Jay said.

"Wait … I'll get it," Karen replied calmly.

Jay shot her a confused look, "Are you sure?"

"I'm not an invalid Jay. I can do it."

"Could you bring mine too?" Adam asked.

"Sure … And Adam, there is something I'd like to say before I do that. I'm glad we managed to be friends again. It meant a lot to me."

"I'm just glad you forgive me," Adam admitted.

Karen gave him a weak smile, "And I hope one day you can forgive me." She turned her attention to the shorter blond man, "And you, I don't know what I would have done without you this past year. You're a true friend."

"Hey, don't go spreading that around … I've got a reputation to protect."

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Karen replied.

The two Canadian's shared a concerned look as Karen took Jay's keys and headed towards the truck. Once there she opened the door, got in and started it up.

"Karen?" Jay yelled out. "Where are you going? You're not supposed to be driving when you're on that medication."

Karen rolled down the window, "I'm going to be with Allen." She slammed his truck into reversed, backed out of the driveway and drove off wildly before either man could stop her.

"Shit," Adam said, "What are we going to do? She's got my car keys."

"And my house keys. Where's your phone?" Jay asked.

"In your car."

"Oh shit. We gotta do something."

Karen drove as fast as she could to get as far away from her friends as possible, "I'm coming Allen." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Karen hit the gas pedal as hard as she could and rammed the truck straight into a very unforgiving concrete wall.


	32. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing over here.**

**Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews. I've had this planned for a long time so hopefully, it will work out like I hoped. Hope you enjoy the twist. Please R & R.**

Chapter 31

Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, May 23, 2008

Karen's eyes fluttered open, she felt like she'd been hit by a truck. She hadn't felt this bad since the last time she'd been in the hospital after her car accident.

"You're awake …"

"Yes," Karen focussed on the nurse standing next to the bed, her voice sounded familiar but Karen couldn't quite place it. "Why couldn't you have let me die?" Her voice was rough from lack of use. Karen had no idea how long she'd been unconscious for.

The blonde haired nurse frowned, "Excuse me?"

"Why couldn't you let me die," Karen repeated. "I wanted to die. There is nothing left for me here anymore."

"I'm sure you don't mean that," the nurse replied. "What would your husband think if he heard you talking like that?"

"Nothing … he's dead. He was stabbed on our honeymoon in Vegas," Karen replied bitterly. "Now, do you see why I wanted to die?"

The nurse frowned in confusion, "What's your husband's name?"

"Allen … his name was Allen."

The sound of a coffee cup dropping to the floor turned Karen's attention to the open door. Standing there, his jaw open was the man Karen was just taking about, "Oh my god, Allen?"

"Hi Karen," A.J managed after a moment.

"It can't be … Am I dreaming? Can you see him too?"

"He's there," the nurse confirmed. "I'll just go and get something to clean that up."

"Sorry," A.J said sheepishly, "It slipped out of my hand."

The blond haired woman smiled, "Don't worry about it, happens all the time." The nurse quickly hurried out of the room left A.J and Karen alone.

The dark haired man approached the bed but stopped before he got too close, "I'm a little confused …"

Tears rolled down the brunette's face, "I can't believe this … they told me you were dead."

"Who told you?" A.J asked.

"The police … How could they tell me that? … I thought I'd lost you."

A.J looked at her like a dear caught in the headlights, "The police? When did this happen?"

Karen wiped her tears away with the palm of her hand, "How long have I been out?"

"Twelve days."

"Damn, that's longer than last time. At least I know who are." The brunette smiled at him, "That's got to be a good thing right?"

"I guess … You do seem really confused though. I should go call Kurt and tell him you're awake."

Karen frowned, "Why would you want to tell that asshole I'm awake. He won't care, he's probably off somewhere with his little whore, Christy."

A.J made a face, "What?"

"Allen, are you okay? You're acting really strange."

"I'm not the one acting strange … You just called your husband an asshole and your best friend a little whore," A.J replied.

"Ex-husband and what do you mean best friend? Christy and me aren't friends."

"I think I should go and get the doctor, something is clearly wrong here." He turned to leave.

"Don't go …. Please don't go. Things are a little fuzzy in my head and I don't want to be left alone. Please Allen."

A.J turned back to face the brunette, "Okay I'll stay but we have to tell the nurse when she comes back."

"Thanks baby."

A.J blushed, "Um … don't really think you should be calling me baby, Karen. People might get the wrong idea."

"Okay, I'm not the only one acting weird." Karen pinched herself on the arm, "Well that hurt, I can't be dreaming. Why can't I call you baby? We are married."

"Married? We're not married."

Before Karen could reply, the blond haired nurse returned with a Doctor. "Karen, this is Doctor Yelland, he's been looking after you while you've been in here."

Karen looked at the man, "That's not Doctor Yelland."

"I can assure you that I am Doctor Yelland," the man replied.

"You have the same voice but Doctor Yelland doesn't look like that." Karen struggled to sit up in the bed.

"Okay, please try and stay calm and as still as possible. You've been unconscious for a long time. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about but I'd just like to examine you and then ask you a few questions." He turned his attention to A.J, "If you wouldn't mind waiting outside?"

"Sure."

"I want him to stay … He's my husband."

"We're not married," A.J protested. "We hardly know each other. I don't know why she thinks we're married."

"Allen? How can you say that?"

"Okay, I have a few questions … What's your name?"

"Karen Jones."

"What's your date of birth?"

"October 12, 1972."

"And what do you think the date is now?"

Karen rolled her eyes, "I'm not sure of the exact date but it's May 2009."

"2009?"

"Yeah, I don't know if it's relevant or not but twelve months ago I was in a car crash. When I woke up, I had retrograde amnesia, I lost five years and I still haven't recovered my memory."

"So you had a car crash in 2008?"

"Yeah."

Doctor Yelland sighed heavily, "Well, this explains a lot. If you'll just excuse us a moment I need to talk to your husband outside."

"What's wrong with me? Why can't you tell me?"

"I just need to run a few more tests before I can confirm anything. And I need your husband to give me some details so we can compare them with your answers, if that's alright with you?"

"I guess so."

"If you could just stay here with Karen," Doctor Yelland instructed the nurse, "We'll just be outside." Wordlessly he and A.J left the room.

The two men stopped as soon as they were clear of the door, "What's going on Doc?"

"First before I tell you anything, what is your relationship with Karen?"

"We're friends and co-workers. She's actually my girlfriend's best friend. I have no idea why she thinks we're married," A.J admitted.

"I may be able to answer that question. While Karen's been unconscious, there was a lot of brain activity. It's rare but it's possible that in her mind she's been living out anything up to a year. Which would explain why she thinks you're married. In her mind, you must have gotten married. Now she's awake, her brain is still thinking it's in that reality."

A.J shook his head, "This can't be good. What am I going to say to her?"

"I'll have to explain what's happened to her. I trust that as you're here in the first place you'll be able to stay for a while?"

"Yeah, I can stay." A.J made a face, "Won't that confuse her even more? She said something about me dying when she first woke up."

"I'll have to run some more tests before we can say for sure. Hopefully, her brain will realise that what she experienced over the last twelve months wasn't actually reality before too long. I know it's a little awkward for you but if you could try and co-operate as much as possible with her, it may help her adjust."

"I can try. I'm not too sure what my girlfriend is going to say about this though."

"We'll if she is Karen's best friend I hope she'll want to do everything to aid her recovery."

"Let's just hope this works. I have no idea what I am going to tell Karen's husband. She thinks they got divorced."

Doctor Yelland frowned, "And where is her husband?"

"In Japan on a promotional tour with my girlfriend. We're all pro wrestlers … Well Karen isn't she's more of a manager but she works for the company."

"Can you contact him and let him know she's awake?"

"I was going to but Karen didn't seem too happy about that. I guess we know why now. I still can't believe she thinks we're married. That's crazy."

"I should get back inside … If you could make the call and come back in when you're done?"

"Sure I can do that."

The older man nodded, "I'll see you back inside in a few moments then."


	33. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing.**

**A/N: I just wanted to say that the pairings will change slightly from now on ... So here is the revised list A.J/Styles/Karen Angle, Karen Angle/Kurt Angle, A.J Styles/Christy Hemme, Kurt Angle/Christy Hemme, Christian Cage/Gail Kim, Edge/Trish. Thanks for the reveiews. Please R & R.**

Chapter 32

Karen had been listening to Doctor Yelland explain what he thought was wrong with her for the last twenty minutes. Her head was spinning with the details he had told her. Everything she thought had happened to her since she woke up in the hospital last time hadn't been true. She and A.J weren't married … She and A.J weren't even dating and she was still married to Kurt. How was this even possible? Just as the man finished speaking, Karen noticed A.J return. He looked uneasy and uncomfortable as he approached the bed. After hearing what she'd just heard from the doctor, this didn't surprise Karen at all.

"Sorry I've been gone so long, the phone call took longer than I thought."

Doctor Yelland nodded, "I've just been explaining to Karen about her condition. I have to call a friend of mine. He's an expert in this field and I want to see if he can come over and take a look at her."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Can you stay here with her?"

"I guess so but what am I supposed to say to her?"

"Just talk to her as you would normally."

"Okay, I can try."

"Thank you, Mr Jones. The less stress Karen is under at the moment, the better."

The brunette watched the doctor leave the room before turning her attention back to A.J, "I suppose you think I'm a complete nut job?"

"Of course not."

"Well you should do … I'm sorry."

A.J frowned, "You don't have to apologise, Karen."

"But look at you … You're really uncomfortable."

"Maybe just a little but I'll get over it. The main thing is that you get better. I called Kurt. He and Christy send their love. Kurt can't wait to see you."

Karen sighed heavily, "They get back on Monday, right?"

"Yeah … How did you know that?"

"This may sound a little crazy but when I was in the coma, they went to Japan too and they got back on a Monday then. Allen?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Why are you here? I mean, if we aren't married or having an affair …"

"We're friends," A.J insisted. "You remember we're friends don't you?"

"Kind of. Everything so jumbled up in my head. I'm struggling to tell fact from fiction," Karen admitted. "You look a little tired are you okay?"

"Me? I'm fine. I didn't sleep well last night is all. I was here late and fell asleep in the chair. And let me tell you … That chair is not very comfortable."

"You didn't have to stay here, you should have gone home."

"I didn't want you to be alone with Kurt and Christy being out of the country and everything."

"That's very sweet of you, Allen."

A.J blushed a little, "You're welcome."

Karen decided there was more to A.J being there then he had admitted but she didn't call him on it, there were far more important things to figure out, "Still I know how much you hate hospitals."

A.J scratched the back on his head, "How did you know that?"

"Christy must have told me," Karen lied.

"Oh, I don't remember telling Christy that." The TNA wrestler shrugged, "Must have done though."

"How else would I know?"

"I dunno … What else has Christy been saying about me?"

"Nothing … nothing at all." Karen bit down hard on her lip in an attempt to stop the tears that were quickly forming rolling down her cheeks.

"Are you okay?"

Karen swallowed hard, "Uh huh."

"Then why do you look like you're going to burst into tears?" A.J asked.

"Probably because I am. I'm sorry."

A.J moved closer to the bed, "Don't be sorry. I can't imagine what you're going through."

"You're here and that's all that matters to me."

The dark haired man gave her a weak smile but said nothing.

"I really mean that, you have no idea how happy I am that you're here. I love you so much."

"I'm just gonna go get a cup of coffee. I'll be right back."

"Okay." Karen waited until A.J had left the room before she spoke allowed, "Oh nice job, Karen. Way to totally freak him out."

Outside her room, A.J was pacing up and down. He couldn't believe what was happening. His girlfriend's best friend and just told him she loved him like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Did something happen?" Doctor Yelland asked as he approached.

"Kind of she just told me that she loves me. I just panicked and said I was getting coffee. She doesn't really love me right?"

"It's quite possible. Even though it only happened in her head, those emotions she experienced while she was in the coma where very real for Karen."

"But she can't be in love with me. We hardly know each other but she seems to know stuff about me that I haven't told her. I think my girlfriend's been saying stuff to her."

"Women talk about their boyfriends especially to their best friends. I'm sure once Karen's settled down things will be clearer for her."

"I hope so Doc. I can't see Christy being too happy about this or Kurt for that matter. I didn't tell them about the problem on the phone."

"That's probably for the best. No sense in worrying them just yet. I'm just going to run some more tests on Karen now. You're welcome to come in with me or stay out here."

A.J frowned, "I think I'll stay out here and get that coffee."

"Okay, I'll tell her that."

"I'm just going to call a few more of her friends and let them know she's awake."

"That seems like a good idea. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see Karen."

"Of course." A.J nodded to the older man before turning to leave. Quickly he walked down the hallway and stepped inside the elevator just before the doors closed. As the elevator was making its way to the ground floor, A.J pulled out his cell phone from his jeans pocket and switched it on. Once the doors opened again, he stepped out and headed outside. Once he was clear on the hospital building he hit number one on his speed dial and waited for an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Gail, it's only me. Is Jay there?"

"Yeah, hold on."

After a few seconds the man who A.J had wanted to speak to came on the other end of the line, "Hello?"

"Hey dude."

"What's up?"

"Not much, I'm just calling to tell you that Karen's awake."

"That's good news. How do you know? Did Kurt call you?"

"No, I'm actually at the hospital. It's really complicated but I really needed to talk to someone about this."

"Okay … She's okay right?"

"Yeah, it's just …" A.J trailed off.

"Just what?"

"She thinks she's in love with me."

"What?"

"The doctors aren't sure for certain or anything but they think she's been living out some sort of reality in her mind while she was in the coma. One where we got married."

The Canadian laughed, "Let me get this straight, Karen Angle thinks you're married to her?"

"She did until Doctor Yelland explained it her to."

"I don't know what to say to that," Jay replied. "It's just weird. Why would she think that?"

"I have no idea but hopefully she'll be over it before Kurt and Christy get back from Japan. Let's hope so. Can you do me a favour man?"

"That depends on what it is … I'm just kidding, what do you need?"

"Can you and Gail drop by for a quick visit? I know you and Karen don't get on well these days but it would really help me out."

"Just let me check with Gail. Hang on." A moment later the blond man spoke again, "Sure, we'll be there in fifteen minutes or so. Can we meet you outside?"

"Yeah. Thanks man. This means a lot to me."

"Don't sweat it. Gail wants to see Karen anyways and it's not like I hate her or anything."

"I know but I appreciate it."

"No worries, we'll see ya in fifteen. Bye."

"Bye." A.J replied before he hung up.


End file.
